The Great Escape 2013 - A Modern Gendrya AU
by arya-starkles
Summary: A Modern Gendrya AU in which they have finally graduated high school and Gendry wants to use their gap year to go on a road trip. They have a list which lists everything they want to do on the trip. Although, they get in some sticky situations which leave them thinking, "I should've stayed home..."
1. Chapter 0 - Prologue

**THE GREAT ESCAPE 2013  
**Prologue: _The beginning of it all…_

…

Parents and students began to flood the school quad and Arya sighed. She stood under a tent, eating her strawberry cupcake solemnly. She wondered where her best friend, Gendry, was. They promised each—other that they would meet here at 4:30, but it was 4:45 and he was nowhere to be found. Arya hated being late, but Gendry was always a creature of tardiness. Arya and Gendry have known each—other for their entire lives. Her dad, Ned, and his dad, Robert, were best friends and were "attached by the hip" as her mother would often joke, so that meant that they saw each—other constantly. Even as kids, Gendry and Arya were close—well, ever since Gendry stood up for her as some bully tormented her in year three—and, like their fathers before them, were too "attached to the hip".

Arya chewed her finger—nail, too anxious to even think straight. She heard her mother groan beside her.

"Arya Stark," she began, "how many times must I tell you?! A lady does not chew her nails in public!" Arya rolled her eyes, her mother always lectured and chastised her about…well, anything and every—thing, really…it was either, "A lady does not…" or "Why can't you be like Sansa? She acts like a lady and not a foul animal…" Sansa was her older sister. Sansa is on her last year at college and was always thestar child in the Stark household: always with the honour rolls, always with the innocence and grace, etcetera.

"I always thought you looked _irresistible _in dresses, Arry…" she heard Gendry joke behind her. She spun around and slapped him in the chest; her mother shot her a look, and then walked away with her cupcake.

"Fuck off, Gendry," she spat, "why are you late?!"

"Geez sorry," he put his hands up, "if I knew that you were going to be so anal about this then I would've came earlier…" Gendry began to snort, it was the same one he did whenever he did a sexual innuendo.

"You didn't…"

Gendry bit his lip as he smiled, nodding he said, "Oh yes…"

"Jesus, Gendry," she sighed, "who was it this time?"

"Wendy Philips…or something like that…"

"You are such an animal."

"And that's why you love me _so _much, Arry" he growled playfully as he hugged her, burying his face in her neck. She squirmed free.

"Can all graduating students and parents please come to the hall to take your seats?" the announcer bellowed, "We will begin shortly…"

"That's our queue," said Gendry as he grabbed her arm and ran towards the hall.

…

They sat in the hall for what seemed like hours. They waited for their names to be called out alphabetically; Alice Samson, Tamsin Sax, Max Star, Arya Stark. _Finally, _she sighed as she walked from her seat and went up the stairs to the main stage where the principle handed her the certificate, followed by a firm handshake, then followed by slumping back into her chair.

This went on for a while. As each name was called, Arya thought. She thought about her high school life here, and every—thing she had done. To be fair, she hadn't really done much, besides the usual British teen stuff you see on the telly—probably turned down a few notches, she wasn't _that _crazy—things like; going to a few parties, having maybe a little too much to drink, and doing things that she regrets, like calling her ex every time she got wasted for two months, wailing into the phone about how much she loved him. As she thought about it, she was sort of disappointed in her lack of adventures as an angst filled and hormone raging teenager. She used to _love _going on adventures as a young girl, she loved the vast space, the sense of not knowing what was out there—it fascinated her young mind—but now she thought herself as quite boring. She was nothing like Gendry though, who would often do bizarre things in his spare time. But no, all she did was sit in her room and read, and go on her laptop, wrapped up in her blanket.

Finally, they had dismissed every—one. One by one, parents and students shuffled out of the—now incredibly stuffy—hall. Arya almost reached the door when the Principle cornered her. He smiled; his breath stunk of what seemed like whiskey and cigarettes.

"Miss Stark, it's such a shame that you're leaving us…" he said, shaking his head solemnly, "it's been a pleasure to have you here at our institution…"

"Really, sir?" she raised her eyebrow.

"Not really," he shrugged, "You're legally an adult now, so I can say this," he cleared his throat, "You have to be one of the most disrespectful students I have ever had the displeasure of looking over in my years here. You do not listen, nor do you care for your education. Every time there is trouble, you are _always _near—you and your little shaggy womanizing friend over there…" he nodded his head over to Gendry who was making faces at Arya, "But you remind me of myself when I was your age, Miss Stark…" he extended his hand out to hers and she shook it, "I will miss you, Miss Stark, I wish you well in your later life…"

Arya was speechless, she thought he was kidding. _Did he really say that to me? _She asked herself, _Oh my god, he actually said that._

"Erm…" she chuckled nervously, "I'll miss you too…" that was a lie: he was always a dick to her.

…

Arya had trouble going to sleep that night. She kept tossing, turning, and writhing around in her bed unable to fall into the deep, and relaxing sleep that she desired. So she lay on her back, staring at the blank celling above her.

_Tap, tap, tap._

Arya shot up and looked around, but nothing.

_Tap, tap, tap._

It was from the window, she was sure of it. Arya hesitantly walked towards the window and saw a silhouette of someone crouching.

"Can ya let me in?" she heard Gendry's muffled voice ask. She rolled her eyes and opened the window.

He climbed in and dusted himself off, "Thank you…" she noticed a note book in his hand and raised her eyebrows.

"And what on earth are you doing in my room at…" she looked over at her alarm clock, "2:35 in the morning, eh?"

He leaned in closer, "I have an idea, it's crazy, yeah, but hear me out…"

She nodded.

"Okay, so I think we should take a year off…"

"What?" she whispered, "Are you crazy? My parents would never allow that!"

He pushed her up against a wall softly and quickly, his face inches from hers, his breath told her that he had been drinking. _Great, _she thought, _a drunken Gendry…_

"Hear me out, Arya!" he said in a hushed tone, "It'll be for, like, two months or three, or whatever it doesn't matter how long it'll take, but I _need _this. It'll be like an adventure! You like adventures don't ya?" Arya nodded slowly, "See? I _need_ the solitude, I _need_ adventure, excitement! I don't want to feel empty anymore. I _need_ this, and I need _you_ to help me. Please? Look!" he pulled up the notebook, Arya squinted her eyes and tried to read his scribble of handwriting, it said, _The Great Escape 2013, _and under it had a list—only three things were listed—but they were unreadable.

"What is _The Great Escape 2013? _Is the name of the trip?"

"Precisely"

"What's under it?"

"It's a list, it only has, like, three things on it right now, but we can fill it up with all the things we wanna do during the trip. Things outside our comfort zone, _anything!"_

"It seems fun and all, but two things: a) you are obviously drunk, and b) my parents would still never allow it! They were hesitant on letting me go to a camp two years ago, what makes you think they'll let me go on a road trip with _you_?"

"My level of intoxication does not matter! It doesn't matter, no, no, it doesn't matter! Your parents _love _me and plus, you are an adult now! They can't control you anymore! So, they don't get a choice in the matter…"

"Gendry…" she said softly.

"No!" he turned away, "We leave tomorrow. It's final. Pack your things for the journey, travel light though, it's better that way. Gather some cash, and I'll be here at noon tomorrow."

"Gendry…"

"I have to go now!" he said quickly, kissing her cheek and climbing out her window like he was Spiderman.

Arya sighed as a cold breeze flew in. She stood in the middle of her room, looking around, and rubbing her bare shoulders. She got back to bed, and was finally able to sleep.

…

**THE NEXT MORNING:**

Arya woke to her head pounding slightly; the events of the morning still stunned her a little. She dragged herself out of bed to the kitchen where she found her mother making some cereal from Bran and Rickon.

"Look who's finally up…" Bran joked.

"Mmhm?" she asked groggily.

"Any brekkie, love?" her mother asked, shaking a box of Corn Flakes.

"Sure."

Arya ate her breakfast and the throbbing in her head slowly and thankfully subsided. She took a quick shower and retreated back to her bedroom where she cuddled up on her comfy blue couch and read one of her dad's old books.

She jerked up when she heard the door fling open. It was Gendry, smiling wide with a bag over his shoulder, "Arya, my dear, have you packed?"

"You were serious about that?"

"Y-yeah, of course I was…"

"Well," she put her book down, and scratched Nymeria's ear, "you were drunk and it was past midnight, so you have to forgive me if I didn't take your drunken slurs seriously…"

"Well, it's on anyways," he put his hands on his hips, "Now go pack, I'll be raiding your fridge."

Arya groaned and brought out her suitcase, shoving in shirts, bras, underwear, pants, _anything. _When she was done, she dragged the bag outside and saw Gendry playing with Bran and Rickon on the Xbox.

"And now you see, young one," Gendry said, leaning towards Bran, "That is how you pull a woman."

"Thanks, Gendry," Bran smiled, "I really hope Meera says yes."

"I know she will, little guy…" Gendry ruffled his hair and saw Arya. He took a big bite from his sandwich and got off the couch, heading for the door.

"Sorry, fellas," Gendry said, "Duty calls…come on, Arry…"

"Where's she going?" Rickon asked.

"On an adventure!" Gendry said dramatically.

"Ooh!" Rickon smiled, "Can I come? Oh, please!?"

Gendry sighed, "Sorry little fella," he turned to Arya, then back to Rickon, "Adults only…"

"Aww…" Rickon frowned.

"Don't worry," Arya said, kissing Rickon's head, "I'll be home soon…"

"Shall we go?" asked Gendry.

"Lead the way…"

**AUTHOR'S NOTE AND STUFF YEAH:**

_So that was the prologue chapter—which was longer than I had hoped it to be but OH WELL—I hope you liked it, it's a random idea but I like modern AU's so yeah. Please leave me a review if you could, it helps me a lot, really, it does! Okay, love you._


	2. Chapter 1 - It's not just a car

A gust of cold air flew into Arya's face as soon as Gendry opened the front door. She shivered, her teeth chattering away, "God, it's so cold!"

"Oh hush, you big baby" Gendry rolled his eyes as he popped open the boot of his shitty red car, stuffing her bags with his.

"We're going to be travelling in _that _death—trap?!" Arya gasped, pointing her finger towards the car, "We're going to be stuck in the middle of the country without any means of returning home if it breaks down! No, no, I refuse to come…"

"Arya Margret Stark," he said with a slight sassy lisp, "You do not speak to my car like that!"

Arya raised her eyebrows; _my middle name isn't even Margret. God Gendry, you're so stupid. _"It's a piece of junk metal; it does not have feelings so it doesn't matter…"

"Ah, but that's the thing, _you can't—_not in my presence at least—If you insult Vera enough, then she'll surely break down. So," he lovingly stroked the hood of the car which was littered with brown dirt and dust, "get in the chick—mobile and LOVE IT"

Arya sighed; there was no point in fighting. The car was _really _shitty; it was a red car that his father bought him for his eighteenth a little less than a year ago. Gendry told her once that his father said, "My son, this is your first car, and it might not look like much, but it's all I could afford…"

"Lies…" Gendry told her.

"Why?"

"My father is rich beyond belief—we got to a private school for Christs sake! He'll rather spend money on booze and whores for the night than buy his _only _son_—_okay no, not his _only _son, that man breeds like a rabbit on heat—a decent car!"

"It was a nice gesture, though…"

"Yeah, well he can't buy my love anymore…" he muttered to himself.

That was true. Robert had been trying to buy Gendry's love ever since his mum died when he was nine. It was all fun at first; toys, games, electronics—everything a little boy could want!—but as time went by, he grew tiresome of his father's advances. Gendry never liked his father—ever since he saw what he did to her—it wasn't, like, physical or verbal abuse though, it was more mental. Robert claimed he loved her but he was never faithful to her, though. He always went out to the strip club with his mates, or bought a hooker for the night or just slept around with the tall, perky, and annoyingly ditzy receptionists he had laying around his office.

But Gendry still _liked _his car; he had a lot of memories in there. Like, there was this one time when Arya and Gendry were visiting some friends on the outskirts of the city and _Vera _decided to break down. Needless to say, they had to hitch—hike back to the city with a very nice elderly couple…who seemed to have found them on facebook, a few days later, which was odd because a) that freaked Arya out because she never gave them her last name and b) they keep liking her photos from, like, three years ago—again, very creepy.

When Arya opened the stiff door, a gust of hot wind blew towards her face, making her cough as she waved her hand in front of her face. "Jesus, Genny, ever thought about cranking up the air conditioner?"

"Aye, aye, _my lady…_" he grinned, leaning over to turn on the air.

"Shut up" she shook her head, fastening her seatbelt.

…

"You're awfully quiet over there, Arry," Gendry said, lifting his gaze from the road to Arya, who was peacefully reading her book "Is something bothering you, love?"

He always loved calling her weird names; _love, my love, my lady, Arry, _etc. It annoyed her to no end, but even she had to admit that it was kind of adorable—he never called anyone else that. He always called the girls he would hook up with or date _babe, _or, _hun'. _Which Arya wondered about for years, why call her all these names if she's _just _his best friend instead of the girl he was shagging? It confused her to no end. Gendry was always renown for being one of utter ambiguity. He was like an unsolvable puzzle—one that she, herself, spent years trying to crack.

"I'm fine" she said, her tone flat.

"You sure, Arry?" he asked, his eyes still flickering between her and the road, "You know you can always talk to me, right? No secrets, right?"

"_I'm fine_" she repeated, but this time with more emphasis.

Gendry slumped in his seat and sighed, "Right, fine," he pulled up to a service station and Arya's head peeked from the book that was practically nuzzled into her nose.

"What? Why are we stopping?"

"We need supplies, _love_…"

"Okay…" she said, returning to her book.

Gendry got out of the car and walked to her side, opening the door. Arya almost fell out since her arm was rested on the door. "What the hell?!"

"You," he said, pointing towards her, "are coming with me, to get snacks. So get your wee booty outta my car, and let's head off…"

Arya sighed, getting out of the car and walking towards the front door. The doors shot open and they both walked in. Gendry seemed a little _too _excited for supply shopping. As soon as the doors flew open, he rushed in: first to the basket holders, then to the crisps, then to the muesli bars, then to the lollies, then the drinks, _and_ _then_ to _lady supplies_, shoving in packs on pads and tampons. Arya shot him a look and he shrugged, "I don't want any nasty surprises in my car, okay? I am being considerate, _thank you very much!_"

He then rushed to the counter, taking his purchases from the basket and laying them out for the cashier, who seemed like she wanted to shoot herself as she scanned the items with a blank and almost zombie-ish look.

"That comes to £160.50, thanks…" the cashier said, her tone was plain and cold as her face.

"You got money?" Gendry asked.

"What?" Arya asked, her arms crossed around her chest, "You _don't _have money?!"

"I do, but it's in the car and I can't be bothered getting it out…"

"Fine," she exhaled, "but you owe me…"

Thank god she was rich.

Arya gave the woman her card and paid for the items. As payback, Gendry had to lug five or six bags back to the car…_by himself. _She giggled as she walked behind him, grunting as he struggled to hold them all. She felt bad, "Do you need any help, _Superman?_" she teased.

"Nah!" she heard him shout, "I am a man, a man of incredible strength, and I _can _do this!"

She rolled her eyes as she trotted back to the car. She helped him pack everything in the back seat and Gendry slumped to the ground as soon as he put the bags away. He groaned, rubbing his hands, "Ah you bitch, argh, you didn't help me, my hands ache like a mother—fucker. Ow, ouchie…ow, kiss it of me?" he said the _kiss it for me? _part sweetly, and she rolled her eyes, pushing his head back, laughing.

They continued to drive for a further six hours, they worked in shifts. As Arya drove on the empty and dark road, she thought. She thought about everything they'll do on their little adventure—if you could call it that—she asked herself if it was worth sacrificing her gap year for it, and she was also worried about what her parents would say as soon as they found out. As if on cue, her phone sang loudly. Arya took the phone from the cup holder and quickly looked at the caller ID—her eyes flickering back and forth—it was her father. _Oh, so help me god, I am dead. He will find me and skin me alive. Oh, no, I will be disowned. I have brought shame upon this family for sneaking out like this. Ah, crap. Just answer it, Arya; he can't hurt you from here. _With a deep breath, she slid her finger across the screen and put it to her ear, wincing a little—she expected immediate shouting.

"Arya Stark, where on earth are you!?" her father almost bellowed into the phone, but not as loud as she originally thought…which was good, right?

"Hi dad…" she said, she suspected that he could hear her wince and whimper through the phone as she heard him sigh. He was tired, she could tell.

"Where are you?" his voice cracked, and her heart sank.

"I'm…er…I…I'm with Gendry…" she stammered.

"_Doinggggg….?"_ His voice sounded almost musical.

"We're…um…we're…"

"Having sex?" he asked quickly and sharply.

"What! No! NO! Eughk! I think I just threw up a little…"

"_Then,_" he emphasised, "_what_ are you doing, young lady?"

Arya took a deep breath and sighed, exasperated, "We're on a road trip. There, I said it…"

"Then why didn't you bloody say so?"

"What...I…don't understand?" _So does he not hate me or am I still in deep shit? STOP BEING SO VAGUE, DAD… _she wanted to say, but held her tongue.

"I did the same thing when I was your age…with your uncle, Robert, actually…" _he isn't my uncle, and let's not tell Gendry that. It'll turn him off the entire trip._

"Really?"

"Yeah," she could almost feel him smiling at the memory, "Do you have money? Are you safe? Do you know where you're going?"

Arya's eyes flickered over to Gendry, who was resting on the car door, snoring lightly as he took shallow breaths, "Yeah," she smiled, "We do…"

[A/N: Hiya! Hope you like the chapter! I'm surviving on less than four hours of sleep so excuse me if there's any errors. As always, please leave a review—it helps me more than you think!]


	3. Chapter 2 - Life's a beach

**CHAPTER TWO:**  
_Life's a beach…_

Gendry had been talking about some story for the past twenty minutes now. Arya nuzzled her head into her hands which rested on the door. She wondered where they were headed. Before she took her last shift Gendry had told her, "Just follow the highway, and in three hours, wake me up, _love._"

She obeyed, driving down the eerily deserted highway, which was only lit by the odd street lamp.

"Are you even listening to me, _lovie?"_ Gendry asked, sounding exasperated.

"Mhm…" she murmured into her palms until Gendry gently rocked her back and forth—it wasn't hard enough to hurt her, but it was enough to make her jerk up from her seat, utterly annoyed.

"We're here…" he said, pulling up to an empty beach.

"The…beach…?" she was puzzled, _why would he take me here? I've been to the beach before._

"We, _my love, _are going surfboarding!" he cheered as he unbuckled his seat belt.

"But I don't have a bathing suit!"

Gendry wiggled his eyebrows, nudging his best friend's arm. She groaned, "Oh, I'm kidding," he made a _psh _sound as he said that, "There's a shop here."

"Right, right" she mumbled as she got out of the car. When she got out of the car, she took a deep breath, taking in the smell; it smelt like wood, salt, and water. It was so _nice._

"Come hither, _child_" Gendry ushered, taking her to the shop which had a large wooden sign atop it reading: _Walter Bay's Swimmin' swimmers: the bathing suits and gear for champions!_

"Ello, lad," the big, rugged man nodded towards Gendry, then to Arya who could barely see over the counter, "Lass. How can I help ya?"

"We need some gear for surfing, like, surfboards, swimmers, body suits, you know…" Gendry told the man, smiling.

The man's belly jiggled as he laughed, "Ah folks, you best be careful out there…" his voice was thick, like a pirate, "There be great dangers out there today, you best be careful, laddy, you wouldn't want your wee girlfriend drowning do ya?"

"What?" Arya scoffed, her hands around her chest, "We aren't dating…"

The man squinted, leaning in closer, almost like he was examining them. Arya felt uncomfortable, "Ya sure, lass?" his asked, she could smell his salty breath, "Yer sure look like a couple, I say!"

"Well, we're _not_…" she said firmly and Gendry put his arm lazily around her shoulder, "You are not helping!" she hissed silently at Gendry who smiled at her, his white teeth glowing against his tanned skin.

"Ho, ho, ho!" his belly jiggled again, "This one is feisty, isn't she?" he asked Gendry and he shrugged.

"I like my women feisty," he winked at Arya who just groaned, "Now, my good man! The gear?" Gendry tapped the wood thrice, a smile still planted on his stupid, smug face.

"Oh, yes, yes, of course…" the man turned around and trotted to the back of his shop, collecting items. He waddled back and laid them on the wooden plank, "There you go, laddy. And I'm sorry lovie," he directed his attention to Arya, "But we only have one design of swimmers for girls right now, so this will have to do…" he pulled up a one piece which was bright pink, littered with colourful fishes and stars.  
Arya groaned again, but accepted the gear; no one was going to see, anyway...

Gendry paid for everything and then shoved a bathing suit and a body suit at her. His head nodded towards the change rooms behind her, "Go get dressed…"

After she got dressed she walked out of the change room to find Gendry sitting on a rock, a cigarette between his pursed lips. A cloud of smoke danced above his head as he breathed out. He saw Arya and waved her over. He was dressed already and it seemed like the suits were skin tight for both of them—maybe a little _too _skin tight.

"You're smoking again?" she asked, a little disappointed.

He extinguished his cigarette and cleaned off his palms, shrugging, "Kind of…"

"What do you mean, _kind of?_"

Gendry picked up smoking when he was around sixteen. Time and time again, she asked him _why. Why would you ruin your body like that? It's a slow suicide, Gendry. _

"Exactly," he told her, and that shocked her. Knowing that your best friend may be suicidal is horrifying, she prayed that he wasn't.

"What do you mean?" she asked, "Are you suicidal or something?"

"No, no" he shook his head as he took hold of her hands, pulling her closer, "That's _such _a permanent solution to my temporary problems. I'm not suicidal, per say, I'm just not _fond _of how my life is at the moment…"

"Then why not _change _it?" she almost whined, "I can help you…please let me help you…"

He sighed and rubbed his thumb over her hand almost lovingly, "It's nothing that you can change, _my love, _and it's something internal, something that one cannot _fix. _Perhaps it'll change in time but as of now, you have to trust me to live the way I choose to, okay?"

"Okay"

She grew impatient; she didn't want to have the same talk again.

"It's a bad habit, whatever, let's just go, okay?" he said defensively, jumping off the rock and grabbing one of the black and red boards as he ran towards the light blue ocean.

His body crashed against the water as he propped himself up on the board almost effortlessly. She envied his talents, last time she did this; she fell off and almost swallowed a fish.

"Come on, Arry!" he cheered, pushing the board on the next wave, he shot up in the air, laughing like a child.

Arya hesitantly dipped her foot in the water, "It's _so _cold!" she screeched, backing away.

"It's fucking amazing, Arya!" he said, riding another wave. This time he stood up as he rode under a huge wave.

She ran into the water, it was freezing cold and she screeched even louder. She heard Gendry giggling in the distance as he swam closer to her.

"Need help?" he teased, his voice almost cocky.

"I'm fine…"

"Oh really?"

"Yes, actually…" she poked her tongue out at him as he swam back a little, watching her with amusement.

He watched her struggle to climb atop her board, but in the end, he decided to help her. Maybe he was a little _too _touchy—feely with her as he lifted her up by her waist, then a little push on her bum. She yelled, slapping him in the face as he laughed. She lost her balance and fell off the board, violently crashing into the water. Gendry was still laughing, his voice though now muffled but it was still bad enough to make her want to come back up and punch him in the face. But she stayed there for a little. She found the floating rather relaxing; how her cheeks were puffed out, how her body lay limp in the clear water, how her hair drifted around her head. She could lay there for days, without a care in the world. But no, humans are not capable of living underwater for a long time without burning their eyes when they opened them or of course, the lack of oxygen that their lungs desired. _Psh, stupid lungs…_

But her peaceful drifting was cut short due to Gendry pulling her back up by her arms. Upon reaching the surface, she couldn't find the strength to take a deep breath. She could feel herself leaving this world and entering a black void. Arya could feel and hear Gendry shouting and shaking her. She _wanted _to breathe, to tell him that she's okay, and to let go of her. Hell, she almost shouted it out, but alas, nothing left her now trembling blue lips.

Next, she found herself lying on the sand, a slight pressure on her lips. Her eyes flickered open and she saw Gendry's flustered face looking down at hers. His eyes were low, and his black hair was now like string hanging down, covering his face.

"Come on, Arry," he pleaded silently, "Don't die on me now…"

She coughed, and water spurted from her lips. It was like a vicious cycle of coughing. It felt like a claw was scraping the inside of her lungs, trying to gather as much air as possible between her quick gasps.

Arya lost consciousness again. When she woke again, it was in agonizing pain. She opened her eyes and squinted at the bright light that seemed to burn her eyes. Her vision became better once the light subsided, and thanks heavens for that.

It took everything in her to turn her head ever so slightly to the left. She saw Gendry sitting there, his head on the edge of her bed, sleeping maybe. She could still smell the salt and the water. _Am I in the hospital? _She asked herself, turning her head slightly again to see her surroundings. _Yep, I'm in a hospital…ugh._

Arya groaned as she turned her head back to Gendry. His head shot up as he blinked a few times, he grabbed her hand and smiled tiredly, "Oh thank god, you're awake!"

"I…er…ow…hurts…lungs…" she murmured, slowing rising.

"Shh…" he said, lowering her down back gently on the bed, "Relax, okay? You need your strength…"

When she woke, it was maybe midnight, judging from the night sky. Her head did not throb as much as before, and she was thankful. Almost distinctively, she looked to the side to see if her best friend was there, but he wasn't.

Arya groaned loudly as she lifted herself up to a sitting position. A sharp stab of pain was felt in her lower abdomen as she found Gendry emerging from what she guessed was the bathroom. He rushed to her side.

"What did I tell you before?" he chastised, "Relax, _love…_"

"I'm _fine,_" she protested, clutching her stomach, wincing. "What happened, Genny?" her voice was soft and gentle. The pain was a little too much for her.

"We were surfing and you slapped me, then you fell off your board, you were pretty much engulfed by a huge wave and I had to find you but when I pulled you out, you were pretty much dead. No breath, no heartbeat, _nothing. _I thought you were dead, Arya. This road trip was a mistake, I'll take you back home once you're discharged. I can't let this happen to you again, okay?"

"No," she croaked, "we can't stop now, I don't want to…"

Gendry's mouth was open, as if he wanted to say something but couldn't find the words to say, "Arya…I…"

"No," she said sharply, the pain now gone, "You dragged me into this _adventure_ and I expect an awesome adventure ahead, okay? I'm fine, I'll be okay…"

He couldn't argue with her, so he just sighed, his hands slapping his lap, "Fine, you win…"

"And Gendry…" she said, leaning back down.

"Yeah?"

"Thanks for saving me…"

He smiled, "No problem, kiddo…"

[A/N: Thanks for reading! And thank you all for the great reviews, they're awesome! Don't forget to write me a wee review, it helps me a lot!]


	4. Chapter 3 - Ice, Ice, Baby

"You sure you're alright?" Gendry asked softly as he slowly led Arya towards the bathroom.

"Yeah," her voice was slightly croaky. She felt dizzy, _really dizzy. _When she got out of bed she could've sworn that she saw green as her world began to spin. She felt herself flush, and even Gendry noticed how pale she was—more than usual. Ever since then, he was reluctant to let her leave.

Arya closed the bathroom door and got changed into some new clothes. Arya sighed, smiling at the change of clothes. Gendry was playing with his phone as she opened the door.

"Ready?" he asked once more, she rolled her eyes, nodding.

…

As they drove, Gendry couldn't stop looking at her as she slumped on the passenger seat, reading peacefully. She could feel his stupid eyes staring into her soul. Arya grunted, turning her head to face him but he looked back onto the road, his lips pursed lightly.

"Why are you staring at my face so hard!?" she demanded.

A chuckle left his lips, his gaze still locked on the road, "I'm just seeing how you were," he said, "You did almost die, after—all. Excuse me for being worried about you, Arya."

"Well _don't_" her tone was firm—perhaps it was harsher than she intended it to be—"For the last time, I'm _fine, _I will be _okay…_" she put her feet on the dash, "Now, where to now?"

"You pick…" he said as his hand reached into his pocket. He awkwardly shuffled his hand around, trying to focus on the road at the same time. He gave her the crumbled piece of paper and she grabbed it eagerly, her eyes scanning down the long list. _Thank god he's added stuff in._

Arya chewed her lip as she thought about all of the possible things they could do. As she looked through the note—book, she saw that some activities were violently crossed out in black. "Why are some of these crossed out?" she asked, turning her head towards Gendry.

He licked his lips, "They're a little _too _dangerous," his eyes flicked over to her, "and I can't risk losing you again over some stupid activity, okay?"

Arya groaned, rolling her eyes, "But Gendr—"

"—No!" he bellowed and she jumped in her seat, never seeing this side of him before; he was always so cheerful and happy, she had never seen him _so _angry. He slumped in his seat a little, a soft sigh leaving his lips; he rose again and loosened his grip on the steering wheel which screeched, "Look, I'm sorry for yelling at you but I'm not going to risk it again, okay? I don't fucking care if you think you're fine because I'm not going to lose you again because of your fake pride, understand?"

Arya bit her lip, nodding. She returned to her book and they spent the rest of the drive in silence.

He pulled into a car park and Arya stretched her body up, trying to see where they were. She found that they were at an ice rink. "And this is not dangerous?" she smirked, her brow raised.

"Maybe," Gendry shrugged, "But you can't die here like you can an ocean…"

"You're never gonna get over that, are you?"

"Nope" Gendry said as he unfastened his seat belt, getting out of the car. He opened Arya's side and helped her up. She linked her arm with his and he looked at her, his eyes soft with worry. "You okay?" he asked, "You don't look too good, and you're clutching me like a child with its bear."

"I'm fine," she smiled weakly; "It was just the standing up part. Like you know when you come back from hospital and you feel _really _dizzy for a while after? Well, yeah, that's all it is. I'm okay now." She smiled and Gendry smiled back too, but not with his eyes—which usually shone whenever he smiled—but with his lips, lightly.

They entered the ice rink and Arya felt a quick chill. Her teeth chattered and Gendry chuckled, wrapping his arm around her shoulder and bringing her into his surprisingly warm chest. _He smells nice, _she noted, but felt incredibly creepy after making the observation. She shook her head as they walked towards the ticket counter.

"Two adults, thanks" Gendry told the big woman behind the counter, who looked like she wanted to hang herself right there and then.

The woman murmured as she gave them the tickets. Gendry rolled his eyes towards Arya as they walked towards the metal bars. He let go of her as she scanned her ticket and shimmied through the revolving bars. Gendry, however, had no such luck as he tried walking through. He got stuck in the middle of it. _A malfunction, probably, _Arya wondered but then began to laugh loudly as everyone turned their heads to the 19 year old boy who was stuck in the simple machine.

"Do you need assistance, sir?" A man, who Arya assumed was security, asked.

"Oh, no thank you," Gendry said sarcastically, "I'm having a jolly good time being stuck in this piece of shit machine and all…" Gendry started hitting the bars and finally, they budged down. Gendry fell head over heels as the machine practically spat him out. Gendry groaned, rubbing his knee and temple.

"You right?" Arya asked mockingly as she lent him a hand.

"Ugh, that hurts like a bitch…" he murmured, scratching the back of his head, "I ought to sue, you sons of bitches!" Gendry yelled towards the guard who just shrugged, turning the other way and leaving.

Arya giggled, linking her arm back with his—that seemed to relax him a little. The rink was huge; its walls were white, with some walls having blue curtains draped over them with the words 'Westsheeds Ice Rink' in thick, black font. There were bleaches on the left and right wall and everywhere Arya could see children and parents fussing around the freezing room.

Gendry and Arya collected their skates and put them on. They waddled towards the entrance and crossed onto the ice. Arya went in first, gliding gracefully as she spun around multiple times. Gendry looked at her, mouth gaping and breath-taken.

She stopped twirling, moving towards him sharply, "What are you waiting for, Gend?"

Gendry chuckled nervously as he grabbed a hold of her hands, putting one foot at a time on the slippery ice. She let go and he immediately clutched the wall, his feet shuffling front and back as he struggled to keep them still.

Arya sighed, "You don't know how to skate, do you?"

"Nope," the corner of his lips curled down as he shrugged, "I was hoping a pretty little lady like you could help me skate."

Arya shook her head and smiled proudly, "Nope! You have to learn yourself!"

Gendry pouted, but then stuck his tongue out. Arya giggled and pushed herself back to watch him as he struggled with keeping his feet still. His hands were still tightly clutched to the railing but he did manage to shift an inch or two.

"Just pretend you're running," Arya finally said, "Like, don't think about it, okay?"

"Okay."

Gendry took a deep breath, and she watched as his flushed and sweaty face scrunched in concentration. He let go of the bar and pushed himself toward. He moved an inch but then lost balance as his feet shot up in the air, making him fall flat on his back. No one seemed to notice him lying there, muttering curse words as he struggled with getting back up. Arya pushed herself toward him and helped him up the rest of the way: her cheeks were red and blown up, as if she was trying to contain her laughter.

"Don't," Gendry warned, "you even laugh, Arry."

"Oh god," she said between her short breaths, "Oh Jesus that was bloody brilliant, Gend!"

He smiled sarcastically, rubbing his arse with his palm, "Oh ha, ha. Yes, yes, me falling and potentially hurting myself is _so _funny. I only live to please you, Stark." Arya shuffled closer to him and leaned on the rail, smirking a little, "I could've broken my arse, Stark, I could've broken the bone or something…"

"Yes, I can see the head line now," Arya said, her hands parting in the air, "_Boy breaks his arse at the Ice Rink, all mourn the loss of that great arse…"_

Gendry looked over at her and grinned, "You think I got a great arse, eh?"

"I didn't say that," she sneered, "Now go and waddle to the door, we're gonna go."

"Really? Why?"

"Because you're just going to embarrass not one me, but yourself"

Gendry sighed, "Fair enough."

…

Gendry insited upon Arya driving for a while, he said that his arse hurt too much. He told her to drive to the nearest motel.

"Why not go to a hotel?" she asked, "It's nicer and we can afford it"

"True," Gendry said, not looking at her, "But that takes all the fun away from the journey, doesn't it?"

She pulled into the motel car park, and it was now dark out. It was a brick building, it had maybe, two or three storeys in it and it looked like a place where addicts go to take drugs, or where men could go secretly take their prostitutes for the night. Arya shivered at the thought of actually _sleeping _there for the night. She wished that she had a UV light with her so she could see every little thing in there—all the dirty stains, and secrets.

She woke up Gendry and they both headed towards the reception desk where they saw an old sweaty man; he wore a stained, green tank top which had black chest hair sticking out of it, and a thick golden chain. He had a thick, brown cigar in his mouth. When he spoke, she could almost feel the nicotine burning her nostrils.

"Aye, kiddos," his voice was rough, and scratchy, "Just for two, eh?" he wiggled his eyebrows and stared at Arya weirdly—almost like he was undressing her in his mind, sending chills up her spine as he looked up at down, smirking slightly.

"The two of us, yeah," Gendry cut in, "But we want separate beds."

"Alright," the man nodded, grabbing two keys from under the table, "You're rooms are on opposite sides of the building, and on different levels. Sorry 'bout that, we're pretty filled up tonight."

"It's fine, thank you." Gendry said.

"How long you stayin', boy?"

"A night"

"That'll be £100—that'll cover one night for you both."

Arya and Gendry exchanged looks and nodded to each other. They pulled out their wallets and gave the man £50 each. He smiled and gave them their keys. They walked towards the elevator, and got inside.

"This is my stop," Arya said, walking out of the elevator. The doors were about to close but flew back open when Gendry put his hand out.

"Sleep tight, princess."

Arya chuckled, "Sleep tight, doofus."

She turned the door knob and crept inside. She sighed and took off her clothes as she walked towards the bedroom. Arya went to the sink and washed her face. She grabbed the towel and wiped her face. After that, she flung herself onto the bouncy bed and groaned into the pillow, falling asleep.


	5. Chapter 4 - Uncle and Uncle

Arya woke at around dawn with a splitting headache. But she had managed to pick herself up, and have a nice shower. She went over to Gendry's room and knocked.

"Come in!" he shouted, "It's open!"

Arya let herself in and saw that there were two empty pizza boxes on the floor. Gendry was on the bed, one hand above under his head, and the other holding the remote. Arya tip toed around the mess and crawled in his bed.

"You sleep well?" he asked, looking at her.

"Meh," she shrugged, "I have a headache, kept having nightmares."

"About?"

"Nothing important," she sighed, "Come on, get dressed."

"Aye, aye Ma'am." He winked, walking over to the bathroom, pulling up his black boxers in the process.

He came out twenty minutes later looking fresh and dapper. They cleaned up the mess and gathered their things. They checked out and left. Although Arya couldn't help but feel violated as she could feel the creepy guy from the front desk undress her as she walked away.

"Where to next, driver?" Arya cheered, feeling a little better now.

"Well, I'm taking us to my uncle and uncle's place up north. I called my uncle last night and he said we could stay for as long as we want. I guess it's better than a dingy old motel, right?" said Gendry as he reached back and grabbed a map from the backseat. Arya chewed her lip and stared at Gendry as he examined the huge map. His eyebrows furrowed, his lips twitched. But at last, he pointed to somewhere on the map, and folded it away.

"Who uses paper maps these days?" she asked, her lips curling up.

Gendry swung his head, "Listen _love,_" he began, "_I _am a traditional man, and I will not fall prey to modern technology. Especially those GPS things that are always programmed with a really hot chick voice, so you listen to her but then _PAH-WOOSH!" _he lifted his hands up in the air, "_Then _you find yourself driving off the road, breaking through the gates and falling to your doom as she tells you that you missed your exit."

"Ah huh," said Arya, "I'm going to read for a while, tell me when we arrive."

"What's with you and books?" he asked as they drove, his eyes flickering from the road to her.

She rolled her eyes, and put the book down, "It's something that I use to fill up my time. People who don't read are stupid, and if they don't like to read then they're more stupid, you know why?" Gendry opened his mouth, as if he was going to say something, but she cut him off, "Because they'll die knowing that they have only lived one life. And that's unacceptable, that's really depressing. I read because I hate my one life, and I want another, and another, and so on. Reading allows me to do that. Now, does that answer your question, Gend?"

"Uh…" he gulped, "Yeah, I guess so."

They didn't talk until they arrived.

Gendry pulled up and Arya took in the beauty of the house. It looked like a grand mansion, although it wasn't as big as a mansion. The driveway alone was a work of art. The lights flickered on as they drove in and the front door swung open. Arya saw a tall, slender man standing there; leaning on the door frame, his black hair covered his blue eyes. _I guess they were waiting for us, _she thought. Chewing her lip, she unbuckled her seatbelt and walked to the door.

"Gendry!" the man grinned, pulling his nephew in for a big hug, "God, you're big now…And this must be Arya," he smiled to her, it was a warm, nice smile, "I've heard so much about you."

"Really?" she raised her brow, and the man cocked his head towards Gendry, rolling his eyes. Arya looked over to Gendry who was awkwardly laughing, rubbing the back of his neck.

"I'm Renly, by the way," he shook Arya's hand and she saw a man with curly, light brown hair emerge from behind Renly, "Oh, and this is my boyfriend Loras. Loras, say hello to Arya."

"Hey Arya," Loras nodded, the corners of his lips curling downwards.

"Okay come on in guys," Renly shuffled inside, "You both must be so tired and cold!"

Renly and Loras led Gendry and Arya to the living room and they sat down on the white couch. Arya shuffled in her seat, loving how it felt against her skin. The living room was pretty grand too. It had a simple black and white scheme; white walls, and a black feature wall—which was where the huge plasma screen was—and the rest of the room had white furniture, with the occasional black accessory like a black vase, black frames, etc. _Thank god there aren't any girls living here, _she thought to herself, _then it'll be black, white and red. _Arya quietly chuckled at her joke, and the boys all looked at her. She coughed and looked down, twiddling her fingers.

"So I hear that you both graduated high school recently?" Loras asked as he poured some tea, "How was that?"

"It was a boring ceremony, if I'm gonna be honest with you, Loras," shrugged Gendry, sipping his tea like an old woman—his pinky lifted up—Gendry put down the cup and continued, "But yeah, now we're here."

"I see," Loras nodded, but then turned his attention to Arya, "So Arya, what are you planning to do once this road trip is finished?"

"Um," she sipped her tea nervously, "I was planning to go to Italy for a few months, there's a school there that I got accepted into, and then maybe after that I'll do something in English."

"Oh," said Renly, "What are you doing in Italy?"

"Well, I'm really interested in the culture, and there's a fighting school there that accepted me, so yep, that's what I'm doing later."

"That _is _interesting," said Renly, "And what about you Gendry? What's it you wanted to do again?"

"I don't really know," Gendry said quietly, "I guess I'll wait until I know what I want to do."

"Is your father telling you what you should study again?" asked Renly, sounding exasperated.

"He was telling me that I should do something in business and management, so then I can take over the family business when he dies."

"And do you plan on taking over upon his death?" Loras interjected.

"Not really, no," Gendry mused, "But I guess I don't have much of a choice, do I?"

"Gendry," Renly sighed, putting down his cup, he leaned in closer, his hands neatly folded on his lap, "You can't let my brother push you around like that. It's your life, and you can do whatever you please. And if he harasses you further, then you are more than welcome to join Loras and I here until you find yourself a flat or something. I can't stand the thought of my brother being pushy to his own son! Tsk, tsk, tsk."

"Thanks, uncle Renly." He smiled.

"Now, with the room situation," said Renly, smacking his lap, "We only have one spare room at the moment—the other one is being renovated—so I hope you two don't mind sharing a bed?"

"I don't mind," said Gendry quickly.

"Of course you don't." Loras chuckled.

"And you, Arya?" Renly said, ignoring Loras' previous comment.

"I'm fine with it; it wouldn't be the first time."

"So you're one of those couples, eh?" Loras giggled.

"Couples?" said Arya, "What? No! For God's sake, no! My God. You think Gendry and I are together? No, no, no."

"Pardon me, for I stand corrected." Loras said, trying to hide his smug face and tone. Loras was really getting on her nerves.

"It was the impression we got when Gendry called last night," said Renly, looking over to his nephew, "The way he was talking about you."

"Ah huh…" said Arya.

"I'll take you two to the room. Follow me." Renly said, ushering them up the stairs and into the room. Surprisingly, the room was different to the other rooms in the house. It looked old fashioned, not as modern as the rest. "This room will be renovated soon, so please excuse the awful decorating in here."

"Thank you Renly." Arya said.

Renly seemed surprised, "It was my pleasure, Arya," he said, "Sleep tight, and please don't do anything teenager-y in here, or else you'll be cleaning it up." And with a wink, Renly closed the door and left.

Gendry jumped on the bed and snuggled up on one side, "It's comfy as hell, _Arry,_" he said, "Come on and try it!"

Arya dropped her bags and jumped on the bed, cuddling a striped pillow. "Mhm, this _is _comfy."

"See," he leaned in closer to her face, "I told you."

She chuckled, "Indeed you did. I'm going to sleep now, so if you're going to keep the light on, make it quick."

"You're not gonna get dressed?" Gendry asked. She got under the covers and took off her shirt and pants.

"No need, sir." She grinned, turning her back from him, she snuggled in closer to the pillow, a soft murmur escaping from her lips.

"Goodnight, _Arry._" Gendry said softly.

"Goodnight, Gendry." She yawned. Gendry reached over and turned off the light.

Arya felt something warm spread around her chest, and was surprised to see Gendry's arm draped over her. His head was buried in her neck, the warmth of his breath tickled. _He's cuddling me, _she realized, _Holy shit, he's cuddling me. My best friend is cuddling me and I'm not feeling disgusted like I usually should. What is happening?_

.

(**Note**: _Thank you for reading and like always, leave a review if you liked it! It really does help during the writing process. I like knowing what you guys like and don't like. And sorry for the late update. School has been crazy.)_


	6. Chapter 5 - The Jealously Game

The warm, tingly sensation Arya felt last night stayed with her until she woke. It was like a wild, unpredictable sensation, like something inside her tummy was brewing and fluttering. _Oh god, I've become Sansa, _she thought as she woke up.

Arya was surprised at how long she had slept; she didn't know she was _that _tired. Arya looked at her phone and checked the clock; it was four in the afternoon. Arya sighed when she saw her wallpaper, the one of her and Gendry at some party, their faces painted with glow and the dark paint, their best drunk faces showing. God, that only made the sick feeling come back.

There was no one next to her, so she threw over the covers and put on a random shirt and shorts. She walked down the stairs slowly and rubbed her eyes. She saw Gendry sitting on a chair in the kitchen, eating some cereal and reading a newspaper.

"Oh," he said, looking up, "You're up."

"Yeah," she yawned, pouring some cereal for herself.

"Did you sleep well?" he asked, trying to make awkward small talk.

"Yeah, I guess," she said, chewing her flakes, "I caught up on a lot of sleep, what about you?"

"Swell," he smiled, his blue eyes gleamed, but then he looked down to the newspaper and was silent again.

Arya finished her cereal and cleaned it all up, "So," he said suddenly, making her turn around and lean on the granite counter, "There's this bonfire tonight, and I got invited to it." He put the paper down, "Would you like to come with me?"

"Uh," she chewed her lip, wondering if she should go or not. It would be weird, though, she would be around strangers and Gendry would more than likely leave her to talk to his old mates. "I guess." She said, but then regretted it. _You're so stupid, Arya, _she thought, _why would you say yes?_

…

Two hours later and they had finally arrived at the beach. The beach was littered with teenagers, all of which were either, chatting, drinking, making out, or sitting by themselves near the fire. There were fairy lights covering some parts of the beach, illuminating the sand, water and twilight brilliantly. Arya could hear the waves crashing, she could smell the salt, but as much as she loved it, she also loathed it because of the bitter memory of her almost death a few days past.

"Gendry!" a girl with long, flowing brown hair squealed, running up to him and jumping on him. Gendry chuckled and patted her back awkwardly.

"Naomi," he said, lifting her down, "It's good to see you!"

"You can say that again!" she grinned as she absentmindedly swished her floral skirt around.

"This," said Gendry, his hand moving towards Arya, "is my friend, Arya."

The words echoed through her head, _friend, friend, friend…_

Naomi's green eyes pieced through Arya. She wrinkled her nose and extended her hand out, "Nice to meet you, Arya. Have you and Gendry been friends for long?"

"Pretty much our entire lives…" Arya said, shaking Naomi's hand.

"Oh, my God, Gend," Naomi looked at Gendry, smiling. _You can't say Gend, _she thought, _I call him that, no one else. _"You _have _to see the others. Come with me!" Naomi grabbed his hand and dragged him away from Arya. He looked back and shrugged, his eyes looking sad as ever.

Arya sighed and decided to get a drink. There was no point in going back to Renly's place, Gendry would just get angry for leaving him, and she didn't remember the way back anyway.

"You look like you're having just as much fun as I am," a voice said. Arya jumped and saw a young boy, around her age with messy black hair and piercing blue eyes. _He looks like Gendry, _she observed, _maybe they're related, knowing Robert he probably is_. He leaned against the rock she was sitting on and he took a sip of his drink, "You with anyone?"

"Yeah," she said, sighing, "But he's left me alone, so here I am."

"Yikes," the boy said, "Do you know anyone here at least?"

"Nah, I'm not from here."

"Really?" he seemed surprised, "Where are you from?"

"London."

"Oh," he chuckled, "So you're a city girl then?"

"Yeah, I guess I am."

"That's sweet," he smiled. "Oh, I'm Edric, by the way."

"Arya," she said simply, taking another sip of her drink and looking out at the water which seemed to sparkle.

"What a weird name," he said, as if it was a thought he said aloud.

"I didn't make fun of _your_ stupid name." she said stubbornly, and he chuckled, throwing his hands up in defence."

"I never said it was _bad,_" he said, jumping on the rock and sitting next to Arya, "It's _different._ I like different."

Arya smiled, and they talked some more, about school, about life, about _everything. _She found Edric to be easy to talk to, as if she was talking to an old friend, or something. And he wasn't bad on the eyes either. Once in a while, she'll find herself zoning out whatever he was talking about and just focusing on his face, his blue eyes that were enough to make her legs tremble lightly.

"Oh God," said Edric, and she snapped out of it, turning her head towards the water. And to her dismay, she saw two people kissing. But it wasn't just _anyone _kissing, it was _Gendry _and Naomi. Something went over Arya, like a wave of anger crashing over her, making her drown all over again. She gritted her teeth, as she watched Gendry rub his hands up and down Naomi's back, and how her hands were massaging his hair.

Maybe it was impulse, or maybe it was just sheer stupidity but she grabbed Edric's face with her hands, his eyes glassy from the alcohol, he looked at her with confusion and curiosity. Arya growled and put her lips on his. He didn't move for a moment, and she thought it wasn't working, or that she was doing something wrong—she had been out of practice for a while now—but before she could pull away, his mouth opened slightly, and his body seemed to relax as he let go of his bottle, it shattered on the rock, but she didn't care to look, and she didn't think Edric did either.

The kiss felt like it lasted forever, but it couldn't've went on for longer than five or so minutes (breath breaks included). When she pulled back, he struggled to catch his breath, he gently swiped his finger over his swollen lips and chuckled, "Where did that come from?"

"I don't know," she lied, a faint smile on her lips, "Just felt like it, I guess."

Edric chuckled but was then silenced by Gendry, "Arya," Gendry said, "Come with me."

"No," she said, "I'm talking to Edric, as you can clearly see."

"Aye," he nodded, "But I want you to come with _me._ It's really important."

Arya sighed, "Fine," she looked at Edric, whose eyes were now dropped to the rock. She chewed her lip, and kissed him on the cheek, her lips lingering there a little longer just for Gendry's sake. _If he wants to play this game, then so be it._

"It was nice speaking to you, Edric. Hopefully we'll see each other again."

"I hope so too." He mumbled, and with that, Arya was dragged away by Gendry.

She had to admit, she did feel really bad about what she did. She isn't the jealous type at all! And Edric was nice, and she just led him on and there was this gross guilt growing in her stomach, she felt sick for what she had did, but she tried to push it away from her mind and talk to Gendry.

"What was so important that you had to drag me away from the nice boy on the rock?" she asked.

"Edric? Nah, not you're type." He said.

"_Not my type? _How would you know what my type is?"

"That's the thing, you don't _have _a type. And besides, he's too much of a nice guy for your liking."

"Well," she sighed, "Maybe I want something less brutal and hurtful, and maybe I want someone who'll treat me right for once."

"Maybe," he said, "But what if you found someone who was the best of both worlds?"

Arya almost tripped over a rock, _where is he taking me? _She wondered, but then said, "The best of both worlds?"

"Yeah, like someone who treats you right, but also gives you that danger you like, and who won't treat you like a fragile flower that may break at any moment."

"You've got a point." She agreed. _That would be nice._

At last, they arrived at some brown, warehouse building. She could hear the muffled roar of the music, the pounding, the intensity. Arya could see lights flashing through the doors and she knew what it was…_a rave._

"You brought me to a _rave_?" she asked, incredulous.

"Aye, my lady," he grinned, still holding her hand, "I think we both need to blow off some steam, eh?"

It seemed like two sides of her brain were fighting, one saying that she should go, and the other was screaming at her to not, like if she did, she would die or something. Arya chewed her lip, but decided to go for it, _what's the worst that could happen?_ _Well, everything bad could happen but that doesn't matter. Stop being such a pussy, Arya. Blow off steam._

A group of four people ran up to them, and among them was Naomi. Arya wanted to punch that wicked grin off her goddamn face. Her fist even tightened at one point, and it took everything within her power to restrain herself.

"Hey Arya!" she said, hugging her. Arya was frozen; all she could do was awkwardly pat her back. At last, she let go. "Okay," said Naomi, "This is Dean," she pointed to the boy with the spiked black hair and the 'I don't give a shit' attitude. "And this is Meghan," she pointed to a girl with pink hair. Meghan wore a tight black dress that came to her thighs, and with a drooping neckline. Megahn waved innocently, "And this is Chad," she pointed to an irresistible boy with shaggy blonde hair and blue eyes. His lips curved up as he nodded his head towards her. Her mouth went tight, her throat now dry. "Okay," Naomi said, wrapping her arm around Gendry's waist, "Let's go inside."

_Fuck my life._


	7. Chapter 6 - Party, Fun, Love and Uh Oh

The inside wasn't as horror movie-ish than the outside, but it still smelt like sweat and sex, and alcohol. Arya sighed, and saw Gendry with Naomi. Her hands kept trailing over his back, and even Arya could see that he didn't like it, but alas, he didn't say stop.

"Alex!" Dean screamed; his hands shoved in the pockets of his leather jacket.

"Heyo!" said Alex cheerfully.

"You got anything?" he asked and Alex scoffed.

"Do you know who I am?" asked Alex and everyone began laughing. Alex took a small zip—lock bag from his pocket and waved it around. She saw that it had a few blue bills in there. _Please don't tell me that's…_ "Ecstasy," said Alex, admiring his stock, "Makes the girls go cray cray, ya know?"

"What does it to for guys then?" Arya asked, but then looked down. _Why did you say that? Why can't you keep your bloody mouth shut? _

"Oh, my sweet summer child," Alex said, "It makes the boys do wonderful things…well, horrible things actually, that they'll regret the morning after but yes, they go as wild as the girls do. But of course, it's not as enjoyable to watch, ya feel?"

"Uh," she said, surprised that he actually said that, "Yeah."

One by one Alex began giving the pills to the group going on about how the first one's free, but the next will cost them. But then, he reached Arya. The little pill that could do so much damage was gently placed in her hand. Arya gulped and tried to give it back to him.

"I don't do drugs, but thanks." She said and Naomi groaned.

"Oh come on, Ariel—"

"—Arya."

"Whatever," Naomi waved her hand, "Don't be such a bore. What's the point in being here if you're not going to blow off some steam?"

_I will not crack under peer pressure, I will not crack under peer pressur—oh God what are you doing. DO NOT PUT THAT PILL IN YOUR MOUTH. Ah, too late._

Next thing Arya knew, she had paint over her face, she had glowsticks in her hands and she was dancing with some random guy. She didn't know who, but she could feel him behind her. Sober Arya would've pushed him off, but _this _Arya didn't care. _Blow off some steam, _Naomi's words echoed through her, _don't be such a bore._

"Hey Arya!" Chad said, swaying over to her.

Arya looked over her shoulder and saw that the other guy was gone. She shrugged and said hi to Chad.

"You're dancing like a maniac!" he screamed over the muffled music.

"Is that a good thing or a bad thing?" she asked, her hips still swaying to the music.

"Hell yeah!" he laughed, moving closer to her. He wrapped his arm around her waist. He seemed to towering her, his face inches from hers. Arya's legs trembled. _God he's so good looking._

"You're really cute, do you know that?" he said, showing off a sexy half-smirk.

"I didn't know that, thank you for reassuring me. I needed that boost of confidence. Thanks Chad."

Chad chuckled, "And you're witty? My, my, you're like my dream woman."

"And does your dream woman go nuts off an illegal substance?" she asked, giggling.

"Only on the weekends, _my lady_," he grinned. _My lady, _she thought, _Oh god Gendry calls me that. Don't call me that. _She pushed any and all thoughts of Gendry from her head. _Stupid Gendry thinking he could make me think he likes me then goes off to kiss someone else._

Arya _really _wanted to kiss Chad, like, really, _really_ wanted to kiss him. She would've restricted herself, but you know what drugs can do to someone. So she grabbed his neck and forcefully pulled him down to her.

He didn't hesitate to kiss her back. Almost immediately his hands began trailing up and down her back, sending prickles down her spine. She pulled herself closer to him until there was almost no free space left between them.

Arya felt someone roughly tug on her wrist. She pulled away and found herself getting dragged by someone; it was hard to see in the light. All she saw was a sweaty mop of hair. Maybe it was Gendry, or maybe not. She prayed that it _wasn't _Gendry, though.

He dragged her out of the building and growled, pushing her up against the wall. She could see who it was now…_Gendry. _She could smell the familiar taste of alcohol on his breath, his eyes hard, his jaw clenched.

"Why are you kissing him?!" he growled, the bitter smell of beer made her gag.

"Because I _wanted _to," she said, "Stop trying to protect me! You're _not _my dad! I'm _not _some child you have to look after!"

"Well, I have no other choice!" he screamed and she could see people looking, "You keep acting like a child! Kissing other people in front of me when you _know _about how I feel!"

"Feel?!" she said, pushing him off her, "How do you fucking feel, Gendry? And don't you _dare _pull that card on me. _You're_ the one who's been kissing other people in front of my face ever since you were old enough to get a hard on!" Gendry flinched, and Arya rubbed her wrists, they ached now. "So, don't try to act like the victim here when you've been doing it longer than I have…"

"I…I…" Gendry stammered but Arya waved him off.

"Save it, you're just like everyone else."

And with that, she left him there, alone. Arya lifted her hoodie over her head, and stuffed her hands in her pockets. She was on the verge of tears now, and she could scarcely remember how to go back to the house. So she prayed she would wander around and would somehow return to the house.

It began to rain heavily, and she groaned, cursing God under her breath. _Oh God, _she realized, stopping in her tracks, _I've ruined it. He hates me now. I've lost my only true friend. He'll never talk to me every again. He'll cancel the trip and make me catch a train home, or he'll drive me home but won't say a word. Oh no, what have I done? Arya, you stupid toad what have you done?_

At last, she found herself back at the house. The door was open, and she feared that either Gendry was home first or that Renly was home. Arya crept into the house but was stopped by Renly sitting in the kitchen.

"Hey Arya," he said, and she turned around, "Oh, have you been crying? Why have you been crying?"

"I'm not crying" she said, and he sighed, gesturing his hand towards the empty seat. Arya sat down, it would've been rude not to.

"Now," he said, sipping his tea, "What's the matter?"

"_Everything" _Arya sighed, burying her hands in her arms.

"What exactly?"

"Boy trouble…" she said, it wasn't _really _lying. It _was _about a boy, but she figured that she shouldn't specify.

"Do you mean _Gendry Trouble?_"

Arya chewed her lip, "Yeah," she croaked and Renly sighed, saying okay over and over again.

"What happened?"

"We were at this…er…thing—"

"Rave?" he asked, "Yes, I know. You're adults, I can't stop you. But continue."

"Well before that we were at bonfire and I was talking to some guy and I saw Gendry locking lips with some girl named Naomi and I got really angry so out of impulse, I kissed the guy I was talking to until Gendry pulled me away. And then at the party I kissed someone else and then Gendry pulls me out of the building, and at this point, he's _really _angry, and asks me why I kept kissing people in front of him when I knew about how he felt…"

"And did you know how he felt?" Renly interrupted, his eyebrows raised.

"I don't know how he feels," she sighed, "It's like one moment he wants me, and then the next I'm locked in the friend-zone…"

"Ah, the friend-zone," said Renly, "I've been there one too many times. So, what happened next?"

"Then I said because I wanted to—but in truth, I just wanted to make him jealous. A stupid, dirty and sloppy tactic, I know, but whatever—and then I yelled at him saying that he was doing the exact same thing to me, and then he was about to say something but I left, and came back here."

"I see," Renly said, his finger gently trailing the brim of his mug. He wrinkled his nose, "How do _you _feel about him?"

"I don't even know," she gulped, twiddling her fingers, "But every time I see him kiss someone, or be affectionate with someone, I just want to kick something and rip my bloody hair out. I don't know if it's just jealously or if it's just me hating PDA."

Renly laughed, and Arya asked him what he was laughing at.

"I know that feeling all too well, Arya," he said, "It's not jealousy, nor your hate for affection. It's _love._"

_Love? No, that can't be right. I don't love anyone but my family. _Love was something she hadn't felt since her first boyfriend. She thought she loved him, but in actual fact it was some pseudo fantasy, something she wanted, something she thought she needed. But she cut herself off after that, made herself feel nothing but an aching numbness for three years.

"I don't love him like…_that._" she said, shaking her head, no.

"Think about it, Arya," Renly said, leaning over the table, "It's obvious that you've been wearing some kind of mask for the last few years. Even _I _can see it, and we've barely known each other for a day or so. Deep down, Arya, you can feel it. You can feel the flame inside you, and no matter how many times you try to extinguish it, it _always _come back, stronger than before."

"I _don't _love him," she said once more.

"Think whatever you want, Arya," he took another sip of tea, waving his hand, "But both of us know the truth. You can't run away from this. You thought you could, deep down you knew you could if you tried, but you've been running for far too long. Sometimes you just need to let it take you or else you'll never be happy." And with that, he got up and walked to the space between the kitchen and the front door. He looked outside, chewing his lip, "Maybe now you can tell him."

And with that, he went upstairs. The front door opened and she saw Gendry standing there, covered in rain. His black hair wet and stuck to his forehead, his eyes red. Gendry gulped, she saw his chest quickly rise and fall, like he was having some sort of trouble keeping it right. It looked like he was crying, but maybe that was just the rain.

"I want to talk to you." he said.


	8. Chapter 7 - Years in the Making

Fear shot through Arya like a bullet. She felt it piece through her chest, making it a struggle to say _anything. _Instead, he walked over and pulled up a chair, burying his head in his hands. He groaned and took a deep breath. He stayed there for a moment, and Arya watched as his breathing slowly returned to normal. Gendry lifted his head, his blue eyes bright, but sad—or maybe it was hope, or fear, or _something. _She couldn't figure it out.

"I'm sorry," he began, "I'm so sorry for what I've done, for what I said, for _everything _I've put you through over the last few years. I was a foolish boy who wanted to make you jealous, but all you did was snicker and look away, never responding to it. You, Arya Stark, are the _only _thing I have left in this world—the _only _thing—and I don't want to you leave. I don't want you to leave me all alone to drift through my days like some zombie. I can't live on this world _without _you."—Arya blinked—"I guess what I'm trying to say is,"—he breathed in, as if it would take _every _inch of him to spit out those final words—"I love you. There, I said it. God, that feels good."

_Love? _She wondered. The words seemed to play through her mind like a broken record, _I love you, I love you, I love you. _Arya didn't know how to take that. Someone had once told her he loved her, and she foolishly believed him. She gave up something precious to the boy, and he took it without regard for its fragility. He just took her heart, and smashed it to the ground, grinding it on the concrete. He told her it was a lesson, to never believe someone when they said those three words. _Every hurt is a lesson, and every lesson makes us better._

Arya didn't know how long she was thinking until he lightly shook her arm. "Arry?" he asked, "Are you going to leave me hanging, _love?_"

_Don't say love. _Arya thought the very word could make her burst into tears. Arya loved him too—more than she would care to say—but it was caught in her throat like an awful lump. _"This was a lesson, Arya," _she heard her old boyfriend say, as clear as the day he had told her, _"You can't trust people, Arya. Every hurt is a lesson, and every lesson makes you better. Love makes you weak. You are weak for failing my test, Arya. A love drunk fool." _Arya shook the voice from her head. _I am not weak, _she told herself, _you can't be weak for loving someone who actually loves you…right?_

"I shouldn't have said anything," Gendry shook his head. She could see the water rising in his eyes, like a storm brewing slowly.

"No," she said, grabbing his hand and pulling him down back into the chair, "I kinda love you too."

Gendry's face dropped again, he wrinkled his nose, "You can't even say it." He mumbled under his breath, and Arya cocked her head to the side.

"Can't even say what?"

"You can't even say you love me properly," he ran his hand through his hair, "And to think I spilled my heart out for you, hoping that you would say it back. And you can't even say it right."

"But I said it!" she said, but it sounded more like a whine.

"With total uncertainty," he added, "I thought you loved me back."

He got up from his seat, and walked towards the stairs.

"But I do!"

He stopped, his fist clenched for a second, then relaxed. He spun around, facing her with a cold face.

"You're so closed off, you know that?" he said, "And it's gotten to the point when you can't even let yourself be happy anymore."

"_You _make me happy," she said softly.

"Then why won't you let me in?"

"Because I don't want to get hurt, that's why." Arya thought she was going to burst into tears.

Gendry sighed, his voice and face was now softer. "I'm _not _going to hurt you, Arya," he said, sniffling, "Why would you even think of that?"

"It's happened before," she hugged herself, "Why not again? I can't get things right. Don't waste your time trying to fix me; I'm not worth the trouble."

"_Why _would you think you're not worth it?" he asked, astonished, "Who told you that?"

"Everyone I've ever come in contact with, really." She shrugged.

He walked closer and put his hands on her shoulders. He seemed to tower over her. His blue eyes searched for hers. His eyes looked darker now, but maybe that was just the light. "You're worth the trouble. Love is worth the struggle. Why lock yourself up in a cell of despair when you have someone _right _here who wants you. I want you more than a fat kid wants cake; I want you more than I need air; I need you more than Lady Gaga needs ridiculous dresses. I want you, and only you."

"I want and love you too, Gendry."

It was only then when he leaned in to kiss her. It was weird at first. He looked at her, his eyes suddenly innocent again, like he was eleven year old Gendry again; innocent, joyful and _happy. _Arya hadn't seen him look like that in years. It was almost like he was asking her permission to kiss her. Arya knew, so she nodded and he smiled a little, biting his lip. He came closer, and she could feel the warmth rush to her cheeks. He kissed her softly at first, one hand on her cheek, but then they both moved down to the small of back. The kiss wasn't sexual, nor filled with teenage hormonal lust. It was like a wave of relief; a soft, sweet kiss, years in the making.

He pulled away and she curved her lips into a tight line, tasting the sweetness. Arya thought that it was the best kiss she had all night. She kissed two other guys tonight, but none of them were like _that. _Sometimes you need a nice long kiss to soothe yourself. They're definitely better than the urgent ones she had just a few hours before.

"Come on," he smiled, grabbing her hand. His thumb rubbed her skin, "Let's go to bed. We've both had a long and somewhat rough night. We deserve some shut eye, yeah?"

"Yeah." She agreed.

…

Arya waited an hour or so until she knew Gendry was really asleep. He was a heavy sleeper anyway. There could be a storm raging outside, and he would still be sleeping like a baby. Arya envied the skill. She often woke up during the night, never getting enough rest.

Arya rolled to her side, peeling his arm off her chest slowly. She crept out of bed and threw on her old clothes. Arya walked downstairs, careful to not wake anyone up. She needed to clear her head for a bit. All this new information just made her head spin, and it kept her up. Arya knew that the sun was going to rise soon, so she decided to walk to a pub she had passed a few hours before.

Arya walked through the door, and it chimed. A girl, a little older than Arya, popped up from behind the counter. Her long silver hair was tied into a messy ponytail. The girl looked like one of the bad—arse maidens from one of her books. Although, she looked sad; her eyes were slightly blood shot, her face was long—probably from lack of sleep—and she seemed to rub her eyes every so often. Arya felt bad for her.

"Hey," the girl smiled as Arya sat on one of the stools, "What can I get you?"

"Just water, thanks," said Arya, and the girl chuckled to herself. "What?"

"Nothing," the girl shook her head, "It's just we don't get many people who come in early in the morning asking for water. Since, you know, we're a pub…which is mostly stocked with alcoholic beverages."

"Headache plus a long arse night equals a pint of water." Arya said, rubbing her temples. Maybe she was being too harsh to her. She was only trying to make conversation anyway.

"Alrighty then," she said, cleaning a glass and filling it with water. The girl put it on the counter, and drops of water splashed onto the table. Arya reached into her bag for her wallet, but the girl waved her hand in dismissal. "No," she said, "It's on the house. You seem to be having a shittier night than I have."

"You got that right." Arya chuckled, taking a long sip of water.

"I'm Daenerys," she said, "You?" Daenerys began wiping the table down with a cloth.

"Arya," Arya responded, "And nice name."

"Thanks," Daenerys smiled, "But call me Dany, though. I like it better."—Arya nodded—"So, Arya, tell me about your 'long arse night'."

"Eh," Arya shrugged, "You wouldn't want to hear it."

"I'm a _bartender_," Dany flexed her fingers, "I'm _supposed _to listen to my customers so come on, dish."

Arya told her the entire story, and by the end of it, Dany looked astonished.

"That, my friend, sounds like one helluva night."—Arya nodded—"Well, aren't you happy now?"

Arya thought about that for a second. Of course she was happy. Her best friend is now her _boy_friend. They stopped fighting, and she felt loved. But…_was _she happy, though? Truly?  
Arya didn't know for sure. Maybe it was just too much for her to handle _right now, _or maybe she just said _I love you _to make him happy, or to make herself happy.

_No, _she shook the doubt from her mind. _I love Gendry, and he loves me. That's all that matters. I'm finally happy now. No time for doubts. _"Are you?" Dany asked again, and Arya snapped back into reality. Dany turned around to grab another glass. She saw that Dany had a tattoo on her shoulder—blade. It was a red, three headed dragon with the words _fire and blood _written under it. _Awesome tattoo, _she thought to herself. Arya coughed and went back to Dany's question.

"Yeah, I guess I am happy." Arya finally said. _God that felt good._

"So what's the problem, then?" Dany asked, and Arya chewed her lip, her finger lightly brushing around the brim of her cup.

"Nothing, I guess." Arya said, slumping slightly in her seat. "Maybe I just over reacted about it all. I have this really bad habit of not trusting people. I always thought that trusting and loving made me weak, but I think now it's if I don't love and trust, then _I'm _weak. Is that crazy?"

"I can see where you're coming from. I know how hard it is to trust and love," Dany said, her lips pursed, her eyes wandered somewhere else, as if she was watching a memory. "But, if you don't take the risk, then you'll just end up stuck in a cell of despair. A sucky, sucky cell of over—protectiveness and loathing."

"Funny," said Arya, "That's what he said."

"Because we're right," Dany smiled, "Now, go on back to the house. I think you've cleared your head."

The sun was up by the time Arya walked out. The air smelt fresh and felt crisp. She should've walked back to the house, but instead she walked to the beach. Barely anyone was there, only the occasional drunk person sleeping on the sand. Arya jumped on one of the rocks and watched the water. Her legs swayed and kicked as she sat.

Suddenly, her phone blasted. A text from Gendry:

_Where did you go, Arry? Are you okay? Do you want me to pick you up or something? I miss you, come back soon, okay? I'm getting worried._

_Xx G._

Arya thought about texting back. Her finger brushed over the screen as she thought about it. She was going to go in a bit anyway. So she slid the phone back into her bag and continued to sit.

"My, my," a familiar voice said, "If it isn't the lovely Arya. Hello again."

Arya turned her head to see who it was.

_Shit._


	9. Chapter 8 - Hello, old friend

Out of everyone it could've been, out of every piece of shit person she had ever met in her entire life, it _had _to him. Arya's throat tightened, her stomach fell and a horrible taste was bubbling in the back of her throat. She hugged herself and took a deep breath.

"Jaqen." Arya said.

"Arya," he smiled, "It's been too long."

"Has it?" she said, turning her head towards him. She squinted.

"It really has." Jaqen sat down next to her on the rock. _He smells the same, _she observed, _a somewhat fresh mint with a hint of nicotine. _ She used to love that cologne. She used to love everything about until but now…

"What is the girl doing so far north?"

"Why is the boy speaking in third person?"

"Touché."

"And I'm here with my friend, we're on a roadtrip."

"Oh, that's right," he nodded, "You're finished high school now, right?"

"Yeah."

He was older than her—by only a few years, but it was old enough for it to be considered odd. When she was around sixteen, and he almost 21, she suffered through a phase in which she dyed her hair black, bought an entire wardrobe that consisted of almost _all _black clothing. She also developed a thing for older men—especially the ones who gave off the bad boy image. All her life, she had been subjected to being a gentle flower that could crumble at any second, and she hated that, more than anything else in the world. But the bad boys never treated her like that; instead of being a flower to them, she was a person. With the bickering, the fighting, the _excitement. _It was an intoxicating feeling to her, and Jaqen so happened to slip into the role of bad boy pretty well.

Their relationship, however, was very hush hush, with secret rendezvous at either his flat or at some other destination. Arya didn't care if they met at an alley; she just wanted to spend time with him, and only him. That was a foolish wish, she would one day realize. There were times when Arya was afraid of it getting out—petrified actually—because if it did come out, then she was done for. All the sneaking around, the secrecy, would be for naught, and her parents would never trust her ever again, nor would they let her go to Italy for school. And she couldn't lose that.

"What do you want, Jaqen?" she finally said.

"I merely wanted to speak with the girl, to see how she is."

"I'm fine, thank you," she said, her tone firm, "Now go away." He chuckled and she shot him a look, "What's so funny?"

"You," his lips twitched, "It's been what, three, four years since we were together and you haven't changed _one _bit."

"I've changed plenty," she snapped, "You're just too stupid to see it because you're so self-absorbed."

"That's cute, honestly." He chuckled again, and Arya chewed her lip, restricting herself from saying a snarky remark, or from punching his stupid face in. "It's that thing you do, how you try and act like an adult when in actual fact, you're just a child. You, Arya, were—and still are—like a child in her mother's clothes, playing grown up."

_No, I'm not, _she told herself, _I'm not a child—not anymore. I'm not stupid like them. It's you who's stupid; stupid, stupid Jaqen trying to pull me down again. _But that's when it hit her, like a ton of bricks, she really _was _thinking like a child. No matter how much she tried to act older than she really was, it would be for naught. Every-one would just think she was weird and "too mature for her own good" she used to hear people say that to her. And everytime she would stomp her foot and protest otherwise. _Maybe I really am a child, _she pondered but then snapped out of it. _No, _she told herself, _he's just saying that to hurt you. That's all he does is hurt people; you, his parents, his friends, everyone. Don't let him get into your head, Arya, not again just as you've recovered. Don't let him win. _Her fist was clenched in a tight ball. She wanted to scream and punch the life out of him, but she knew she couldn't do that. What would she say if someone found her? 'He made me feel stupid, so that's why he's unconscious on the ground, barely breathing with blood everywhere. Yes, that's exactly why, Officer.'

"Perhaps," she said, breathing heavily, "But I don't want to talk to you about this…or anything else, really. So I would _love _it if you left me alone to my thoughts. Could you do that, Jaqen? Could you give me that, at least?"

"What did I say about that word, Arya?" he made a _tsk _sound with his mouth, "_Love! _What a terrible word. Didn't you learn your lesson, Arya? What did I tell you about the lessons I gave you?"

She sighed, reciting the words, "_Every hurt is a lesson, and every lesson hurts._"

"Aye," he nodded, "The girl remembers well. Never use that word again, _my love, _for it's the cause of _every _bad thing in this world, is it not? Live in the shadows, in secrecy, _my love, _you'll be safer like that."

"Stop talking like you're in some medieval fantasy, for Christ's sake!" she groaned. He always talked like that when they were together; that one was one the biggest cons; the riddles, the games, the soft speaking, it all infuriated her.

"My apologies,_ my lady_."

_He's mocking me, _she realized. _He keeps calling me my lady and my love. Gendry always calls me that. Nobody else calls me that but Gendry—not even when we were together he called me that. Why now?_

"Why do you keep calling me that?" she asked.

"Because Gendry calls you that."

"How did you know he…"

"Because I know all about this road trip, and your little affair with the bastard boy."

"How in God's name did you…" her tone was fiercer now.

"Because I've been following you, my dear girl."

"You _what_!?"

"_I-was-following-you_," he repeated, but this time slower and with more emphasis. "God, I don't know how you didn't understand that."

"Dude!" she shrieked, utterly freaked out, "Not fucking cool!"

"I was merely seeing how you were doing, _Arry,_" he reassured, his fingers nimbly moving around her bare arms. She shivered, but pushed them away.

"How did you know we were on a road trip? I didn't tell anyone but my family."

"And that's exactly who I asked."

_No, _she was horrified, _no, no, not my family. We promised you would never talk to them, would never pull them into all this. You didn't tell them, did you? He couldn't have, though. Her parents would've called her by now._

"What did you tell them, Jaqen?"

"That I was someone from that school in Italy, and that I needed to reach you immediately."

"You piece of shi—"

"What the hell is going on here?" Gendry asked, cutting her off. Her fist was midway in the air; she wanted to punch Jaqen, more than _anything._ _God damn it, Gendry, _she thought, _you come now?_

"Nothing," she shook her head, sighing, "I was just leaving. Come on." Arya walked towards Gendry and linked her arm with his, putting her head on his shoulder.

"Let's go home." Gendry said softly, turning around and escorting her back to the house.


	10. Chapter 9 - The Birds and the Bees

**AUTHORS** **NOTE**:

I'm so sorry about the lateness of this chapter (blame writers block and school) but I hope you enjoy the chapter! Upon popular request, I've made the chapter longer (around 3,000 words rather than 1,000 or so) Do you guys want me to continue having long chapters or should I keep them short and snappy? As always, please leave a review since it helps a lot! Thank you and enjoy! :)

Arya slept through most of the day, her mind running over time, trying to figure out what happened. She had a dream about Jaqen; they were back together in his little flat. It was weird, being back there; his voice was the same, raspy and sexy; his hair was long and messy—she assumed that he had just woken up; his hair always looked like that whenever he woke up.

"You need to wake up," he said, catching her by surprise.

"What?" she asked.

"From this fantasy," he smiled slightly. "You're dreaming right now, do you know that?"—she wondered about that for a moment, but couldn't seem to grasp on anything that told her otherwise—"Most importantly, you're dreaming about me—your ex-boyfriend—why would you dream of me? Someone you've hated ever since we broke up? It's because deep down, you want me again; you want me to pick you up and kiss you hard, and _mean _it. Does Gendry ever kiss you like that? Does he ever touch you like this?"—he came closer; his warm hand stroked her bare arm. He laughed when he felt her shiver. "I don't think he does. You _miss _me. You're tired of that good-guy crap. You want something exciting, something better than a broken man-whore with daddy issues."—he came closer, his nose touching hers; she felt the heat radiating from him, his musky and rough scent making her feel all fuzzy. He whispered, "_Give in to it._" When he said that, he went in to kiss her, but as soon as their lips met, her eyes opened.

Gendry was there, standing in the doorway; he wore blue, striped pyjama pants and a band shirt. He had a can of Red-Bull in his hand; he stirred it with a red straw.

"Hey sleepy-head," he said. Arya turned and got her phone from the bedside table to check the time. It was almost four-thirty in the afternoon. _Well, that's my day gone. _When she turned back, Gendry was next to her on the bed. He was staring at the celling and breathing in heavily.

"So…" he trailed off.

"So…" she repeated. He turned his head, and shrugged.

"Wanna talk about what happened yesterday?"

"Not particularly," she smacked her lips and looked up to the celling, her hands resting on her stomach. "Why do you ask?"

"Because," he said, sounding slightly annoyed, "We've—_you've_—had a weird last couple of hours and I just _thought _that as your boyfriend that I should ask you if you needed anything."

_Boyfriend, boyfriend, boyfriend._

"I'm fine, really," she lied, turning back to her side to meet his blue eyes. "Don't you worry about me, Gendry, I'm fine. Always has, always will be. I'm Arya Stark, remember? Nothing fazes me." She smiled sweetly and kissed him quickly before pulling away and jumping out of bed, walking towards the bathroom. She stopped in her steps and cranked her head around to him; he looked sad almost as he pursed his lips. "I'm going to have a shower. I'll be back before you know it."

"May I join you?" he said, smirking slightly.

"Ehh…let's take this slowly, Gendry," she said; her voice sounding playful and teasing even though she was adamant about the whole naked thing. She's seen him naked once or twice but the only boy who has ever seen her naked was Jaqen…and even then she was nervous about it. Gendry made a blubbering sound with his lips and got out of bed, walking over to her and kissing her cheek.

"I'm gonna head outside for a quickie."

"A quickie of what exactly?" she arched her brow.

"I need a cigg," he said plainly, as if he had forgotten the talk they had a couple of days ago about his horrible habit, but she was a good girl and didn't press on it like she did last time, the last thing she needed was another stupid fight with him. "I just need to relax, you know?"

"Yeah…" she said, her voice trailing off as she watched him reach into his bag and grab a pack of smokes and as he walked out, waving his fingers before closing the door…and rather harshly for that matter.

Arya sighed, turning on her heel and making her way into the shower. She stripped off and turned the water on, putting her hand in the water occasionally to check the temperature. When it was perfect, she stepped inside and lifted her head up, closing her eyes as she felt the warm droplets fall on her cheeks. Arya took the time to think—like she usually did during her showers. She thought about her dream, about her new relationship with Gendry, her future. It all seemed to be too much for her, really. As a girl, she would look at Gendry and imagine what it would be like if they were together, doing the usual teenager-y relationship things, and she would think about it with such…_naivety_ that it was almost cliché; best friends would become boyfriend and girlfriend, they'll love each other and get married and have little babies. Looking back at it, it was childish, to say the least. But the day he told her he lost his virginity, at the mere age of fifteen, _that's _when she pulled back and stopped her foolishness. He had shown no interest in her, so why try, right? Why go for someone who doesn't want you? Who doesn't want your kisses or your affection? So she pushed it from her mind and moved on by seeking out someone like Jaqen, someone _safe. _But she was to soon find out that he _wasn't _safe at all, that it was some pseudo-fantasy of what she really wanted. Arya groaned and got out of the shower, grabbing a towel and wrapping it around her little body. She turned the water off and caught her reflection on the mirror. Arya didn't really liked what she saw; it wasn't so much about her appearance—she was never one of those girls who spent all their time worrying about how they looked, or their never-ending lists of flaws to be picked at—but it was more of what she's getting herself into.

_What am I supposed to do now? _She wondered. _Do I wait a while until Gendry and I do anything serious or what? Does he expect to have sex any time soon? He's no virgin, and we've known each-other for ages, so why waste time on the pleasantries? God damn it, Arya, hold yourself together. You're a Stark; you should know what to do. Come on, think!_

Arya breathed out and quickly rubbed her hand over the misty and wet mirror. She had been crying, she saw; her eyes slightly red and puffy. _I've got to get rid of the redness before anyone sees. _Arya didn't even know when she began to cry, or _why _she did, but she shook her head and splashed some water on her face, her hands gripped the side of the basin. Before she knew it, two arms slid through her waist. Arya was caught off guard and twisted her head quickly to see who it was.

"_Gendry,_" she breathed out, "You scared me."

"Ah," he said; the smell of nicotine still fresh and hard on his breath. "Apologies, _my lady, _for the intrusion but you were in here for a while, so I was worried."

"I'm gonna go get dressed," she said; she felt an urgency to leave the room. This whole thing made her feel nauseous. "I'll be back in a bit, okay?"

"Hm," he replied, seemingly unimpressed by her reaction to his affection.

Arya hurried from the bathroom, the blue towel still wrapped around her tightly. She moved to her bags and picked out a random band shirt, shorts and black tights—her usual attire. Arya scurried back into the bathroom and ordered Gendry to go until she got dressed. Gendry, arms crossed, turned from her and walked off, mumbling something that she couldn't understand.

When she came out, she saw him leaning on the desk; his head down, eyes glued to his phone. He had changed too; he was now dressed in some black jeans with a pair of black converse and an old, tattered shirt that had a _Nintendo _logo on it.

"And here she finally is," he said.

"I was, like, seven minutes?"

"_That's, _like," he said, his voice now girly, "twenty in guy time."

"Ah huh," she nodded. "So, what's on the agenda for today?"

"I don't know," he shrugged.

"You _don't know_?" she asked, dumbfounded. "What about your list?"

"It got caught in the washing, apparently," his eyes were still glued on the phone as he said that, which made Arya annoyed. "So we gotta make shit up as we go now."

"Wonderful." She muttered, dropping down to the bed.

He sat next to her, "What do you want to do?"

She fiddled with her bracelets, "I don't know?"

He snaked his arm around her shoulders. "How 'bout we go piss off some kids at the park? Or we'll go bowling, or we'll go to a swimming pool or somethi—wait, no, actually, no swimming pool. Last time I let you swim, you almost died so…"

"I thank you for your everlasting support…"

"Anytime, _my lady._"

They just sat there awkwardly for a while. That didn't happen much before, and Arya couldn't help but think it had something to do with her, or their new found relationship—like it's affected them somehow. _Lovely, _she thought.

"Could we go bowling?" she asked, "There's nothing else we can do here, really."

He pulled her closer, "If that's what you want."

They drove to the bowling alley in silence, except for the radio playing softly in the background. Arya would glance at him sometimes and she would find him either tapping the wheel, or gripping it, making a horrible screeching sound. _He's tense, _she observed, her imagination doing overtime. _Did I make him mad or something? _Arya couldn't jump to that conclusion, no. _Not everything is about you, Arya. He's probably stressed from the trip, or what happened. He'll be okay. _

When they arrived, he got out of his car and rushed to her door, opening it for her.

"_My lady,_" he smiled, bowling slightly. She wanted to push him and laugh.

They walked inside and were greeted by a bunch of little kids rushing past them, giggling. Arya and Gendry looked at each other and laughed with them.

"Hey," said Gendry, "I'm going to get the stuff, you wait there and I'll be back."

She agreed and sat down at the nearest table; her head was leaning on her hand, her fingers tapping the table in the same rhythm as the pop song which played on the TV screens. _Maybe this will take my mind off things, _she thought, perhaps desperately. _I need some time to just forget and move on. Maybe this will help__…__maybe he will help. That is if he doesn't get sick of me and ditch. _It seemed crazy to her, this…_insecurity_ about her new relationship. She was usually fine in them; she got along with them fine quick enough, and didn't give it much thought after that, but with _him, _Gendry, her best friend in the entire world, it was different, and she didn't know if that difference was a good thing or a bad thing.

Before she could think of it longer, he came back, shoes in hand.

"We're supposed to be other there,"—he pointed to one of the empty lanes at the end—"put on your shoes, and we'll start."

She took off her shoes and slipped on the dirty, sweat-smelling bowling shoes. Arya began walking towards the lane slowly, thanks to the shoes which seemed to make an awful _squish _sound whenever she took a step. Gendry rushed over to the computer and typed in his name, which wasn't really his name, but instead it was _BullBoy69. _She rolled her eyes at that, and he grinned.

"_Your _name?" he questioned, his hands gripping the sides of the screen.

"Just put in Arya, like a normal person." She said. He poked his tongue out and began typing. She gave no notice to him as she picked up a blue bowling ball. _God its heavy, _she thought. Arya hadn't been bowling since she was a little girl, when she used to play it with one of those slides—even now, a legal adult, she wondered if she would need one of those slides again. She opted to not have one of those, in case of being laughed at by Gendry and everyone else.

"It's _my _turn, first, Stark." He said, grabbing a yellow ball. Arya sighed and put her ball back. She plonked herself down on a chair and slid down. Arya looked up at the screen and saw what he had named her. It certainly wasn't _Arya Stark, _like she asked, but instead it was, _Sour Wolfie. _Arya mumbled a curse, but Gendry heard her. He turned his neck around to see her, his blue eyes sparkling; he winked and smiled before turning back and throwing the ball.

"Striiiiikkkkkkeeeee!" he yelled, throwing his hands in the air. He got some odd glances from some of the parents in the room, but the children who did look only giggled at the strange man-child. "Your turn, _sour wolfie." _He said; his face inches from her before she pushed his face away and walked to the balls. She grabbed her blue ball and held it close to her face, inhaling deeply as her eyes watched the middle pin. She breathed out and bent her arm backwards before throwing it forward. The ball was rolling towards the middle, and she was silent, just in case the slightest movement would throw it off. The ball began to roll towards the left and fell into the gutter. She groaned, burying her head in her hands. She turned around and put her hands down, seeing Gendry laugh. That made her mad. Arya went to him and pushed him.

"Shut up!" she said, pushing him again, but he kept laughing harder and harder. She decided to stop fighting and sit back on the chair to watch him win over and over again, getting a strike while she_ still _got bad scores. Arya didn't really want to play anymore.

"Last turn, _sour wolfie,_" Gendry called from the computer screen, smiling slyly as she passed him. Arya took a deep breath and threw the ball.

Gendry ended up winning and Arya ended up being a sore loser.

"Hey, hey," he said in-between laughs, "there's always next time, baby."

"Mhmm" she grumbled and he put his arm around her waist, bringing her in closer. His lips were close to her ear, the heat of his breath sent prickles down her spine.

"Hey, maybe next time I can let you win," he said, trying to make his voice sound sultry and dark. Arya didn't know if she was supposed to feel turned on or creeped out. She never really knew with Gendry, it was always one or the other. "And maybe we can find something that you're good at."

She shook the inappropriately wonderful image from her mind and sat down at a table. Gendry went off to the food counter; the young and buxom cashier blushed whenever he spoke. _He's a good looking lad, _she told herself, _and he's going to get attention whether I like it or not. He chose me, remember? So nothing will happen, right?_ Arya hated this insecure thing. Gendry came back with two hot dogs, a bottle of water and pepsi. He gave the water to her and they began eating.

"So, anything else you feel like doing during this trip?" he asked, crumbs falling out of his mouth.

"Uh," she thought, "I don't know."

"I guess," he said, wiping his mouth with a napkin, "we should spend more time…together, you know? Like, as a couple rather than doing random crap."

Arya smiled weakly and nodded calmly even though on the inside, she was freaking out. _Does he mean sex? What the hell do couples do rather than make out, cuddle and fuck? _

When they finished eating, he grabbed her hand and took her over to a ticket machine. He put in some cash and out came some tokens. "Right," he said as he pushed the coins around in his palm. "Let's have some fun!"

Gendry went around and played some games whilst she just watched him, her arms crossed. He was getting into the basketball game he was playing so she wandered off to something else. A guy came up to her, about her age with short blonde hair and blue eyes. He smiled and said hello.

"Hi." She replied.

"Are you alone?" he asked.

She shook her head.

"Who are you with?"

"Boyfriend," she pointed over to Gendry who was getting a little too involved in his game, "Over there."

"I see," the boy nodded, leaving.

For the next hour, they played through several games, and got several tickets. Gendry dragged her into a photo-booth and took some pictures—those cliché couple pictures; funny faces, kisses and such.

When they ran out of coins, Gendry took his winnings to the ticket machine and put all of them in—it seemed to take forever. The machine spat out a receipt saying that he had a total of 500 tickets.

"Hm," he wondered as he moved over to glass box filled with prizes.

"What are you gonna get?" she asked.

"I can't get anything fancy because it costs too much so…"

"What about that?" she asked, pressing her finger on the glass towards the quirky glasses.

He chuckled, "Maybe."

After a long silence, he decided to go for the two crazy glasses and a giant pink teddy bear with a heart in its hands. He took a photo of her with the bear and glasses before they both rushed to the car to go home.

It was dark out, and it was almost pitch black by the time they arrived back to the house. Gendry called out to see if anyone was at home. No response. So he grabbed her hand and took her upstairs to their room before closing the door and kissing his new girlfriend on the lips. _Hard. _

"Gendry…" she managed to force out in-between kisses, "What are you doing?"

He stopped, "Kissing my lady friend?" his eyes flicked to her lips, then back to her eyes. His eyes were darker now, like a brewing storm, his voice was too. "Do you want me to stop?"

"No," she said suddenly, and he continued to kiss her.

They fell on the bed and continued for a few minutes before his hand began to snake up her shirt. Her eyes flung open, and she jumped off the bed, quick as cat.

"What's the matter?" he asked, his fingers tracing the seam of his lips.

"I'm not just in the, uh…mood." She said, almost lying. "Could we do this another time?"

"We may not get another chance, babe," he said, "considering how my uncles never leave the house." There was a bitter taste in her mouth, that taste you have before you start puking. _He wants to have sex. He wants to do it. Oh, my God. Why now. _

"I'm uh…" she trailed off, thinking of what she should say. "It's my time of the month," _oh my god you little__…_"Yeah," she chuckled awkwardly, rubbing the nape of her neck. "Got cramps and stuff…"

"Oh…" he said, getting off the bed. "I'm gonna, uh, have a shower and go to bed."

When he'd left, she dropped to the bed, her head in the pillows. "_Idiot!_" she mumbled. It wasn't that she _didn't_ want to do it with him, it wasn't like neither of them were virgins or anything, but it was more the thought of doing it with her best friend, and the ramifications of doing it. She couldn't afford to lose her best friend like that, _not now, _at least. _Oh God, Arya, what have you gotten yourself into?_


	11. Chapter 10 - When It All Falls Apart

They both mutually ignored each other for three days straight. Whilst it was Arya who initiated the silence, she found herself regretting it by the second day. She wanted her Gendry back; she would've done anything to have him back. This was absolute torture.

Arya had a plan, and she hoped it would work.

Gendry wandered into the kitchen. Renly and Loras were out, thankfully, so they had the entire house to herself. Arya leant in the doorframe, watching her boyfriend—could she still call him that? Did they break up?—drink a glass of milk. The daily paper was in his hands, and his eyes were glued down to it.

Gendry wrinkled his nose as he wiped his milk-moustache off with his hoodie sleeve. God, he looked good in that hoodie. It was navy, the colour suited him really well—it brought out his eyes.

_Okay, enough fawning, Arya. Time to get him back. _Straightening herself up, she pressed a hand on her stomach. It was hurting a little, maybe it was nerves. It was too late to back out. It was now or never.

She jumped over to him, smiling up to him. "Hey Gendry."

"Hey," he said without even looking at her. Arya chewed her lower lip as she pressed her back against the counter top. She sighed, watching as he read.

His eyes weren't moving, she saw. What if he's pretending to read so she'll eventually get the hint and leave him alone? Arya knew how to take a hint, sure, but she didn't want one from _him. _

_All this build up and now you abandon it? Why, because I didn't fuck you?_

Arya was getting angry now, but she didn't want to lash out at him. It would only make matters worse. She doesn't want to lose him. She didn't want to leave him on rough ground.

"Why aren't you talking to me?" Arya asked, pinching his sides lovingly. She's never really done that before—being affectionate like that. It didn't matter though; she could suck it up for a while.

"I've just had some stuff on my mind, is all," he explained, his eyes flicking up to hers. Her stomach turned, but in a good way. "I just needed some space, yeah?"

"You've had _three _days so far," Arya whined as Gendry moved away. She followed close behind as he trotted into the living room, plonking himself down on the couch. "I'm starting to…_think _things."

"What things?" he sighed, almost sounding like he was annoyed. _Should've kept your trap shut, Stark._

"That maybe…" she trailed off, "…you hate me or something."

"You're my girlfriend," he said, "I don't hate you. I have no reason to hate you."

"Yes, you _do_." Arya was persistent. "I denied you sex, and then you don't talk to me for three days; no words, no smiles, no kisses—_nothing._"

"Do you really think this is about you?" Gendry asked, dumbfounded.

"What else could it be, Gendry?"

They were both close to raising their voices, she could feel the tension brewing in her blood, boiling hot and ready to burst. _No, don't yell at him._

"Jesus," he breathed out, scrubbing his face hard with his palms. "Not _everything _is about you." That caught her off guard. "Heaven forbid I should have problems once in a while."

Gendry shot off the couch. He was ready to make a break for it, but she wasn't going to lose him _that _easily. What problems could he possibly have?

"What problems, Gen?" she asked softly, her thumb brushed against his wrists and he pulled away as if she was a sickness.

He was slumped in front of her, and she just stared at his back. He was breathing heavily and shakily, as if he was about to cry, but he was holding it back. A sensation she'd been all too familiar with in the past. He looked over his shoulder, and their eyes met. His eyes were a dark blue, and his face was dropped.

"Forget I said anything," he grumbled. They looked at each other for another moment, but then he huffed and went up the stairs. She figured it was best to leave him alone now. Arya knew it'll probably be impossible to salvage their friendship. Screw their relationship, she's lost him as a boyfriend, she can't lose her friend, too—her only true friend.

_Stupid, Arya._

A few hours flew by, and Gendry had never left his room. This was silly, she figured. What couldn't he tell her? They've been friends since pretty much birth and _now _they keep secrets? Sure, Arya's kept her fair share of secrets in the past, but he never did (or so she _thought_).

_This trip was the worst decision I've ever made. I want to go home. I want to curl up beneath my blanket and finally cry. I want to play with my brothers. I want to ruffle Rickon's hair, and I want to kick Jon and Robb. I want to hug mum and dad. I want to tell them everything, for once, and I want them to get me out of this place._

Arya's philosophy was a very simple one: _do whatever the fuck it is you want to do because you may never have the chance to do it again_. It's worked for her thus far. If she wanted to kiss someone, she did. If she wanted to punch someone, she did. If she wanted to do something wild, she did. Regardless of the consequences, she would do it.

Her philosophy must've been flawed, though, when she realized that she couldn't apply it to her current dilemma. She couldn't physically do it.

Arya paced through the living room, muttering words of encouragement to herself. _Get in there and kiss him hard on the mouth. Get in there and hug him and listen to him. Do everything you can. _

Arya chewed her finger nails, looking up the stairs. The door was slightly ajar, and she could hear faint music coming from the room. Arya didn't recognize the song, but from what she could hear, it sounded depressing—and that was never a good sign when it came to Gendry.

His music always matched his mood.

Arya had her hand on the round bit on the end of the railing. Arya felt a flush over her cheeks when she caught a glimpse of him from the opening of the door. He walked past the door, head swaying with the music. He had CD's in his hands, and he was in nothing but his black boxer shorts. Arya gulped as she felt something stir in her stomach.

_Fuck it._

Arya quietly made her way upstairs, careful not to make a sound, as if Gendry was a baby deer she was planning on hunting. The steps creaked slightly, and she flinched.

_He has his headphones on, _she told herself. _I doubt he can hear you, anyway._

Arya pushed lightly on the door, and it creaked open loudly. Gendry, who was sitting in the middle of the bed, legs crossed, looked up, blinking before looking back down to his CD collection.

"Gendry?" she called out, rubbing her wrist.

He mumbled something that she couldn't hear. It was probably a "go away" or a "get the fuck out of my room", but that didn't matter. It's been long enough, and she had the right to know what was troubling him. That's what girlfriends—_friends_—do for one another, regardless if you shove your tongue down their throat on a daily basis.

Arya sat on the front of the bed, her fingers played with some of the frayed bits of his blanket before she looked up. He was looking at her, the headphones now resting around his neck. The music had stopped, and she _finally _got his attention.

"Please," she pleaded softly. "Tell me what's bothering you."

"I don't see why you would even care." He mumbled as if she couldn't hear him.

But she did.

"Of course I care," Arya said. "I've always cared. Gendry, regardless of _what _we are now, I still care. I don't care if you hate me or love me, man. I _still _care."

"D'you really mean that?" he asked, eyes squinted a little.

"Is the Pope catholic?" she smiled, and he laughed a little, the sides of his eyes crinkled as he did so. _There's my Gendry. _

"It's just…" Gendry trailed off. "I'm…scared."

"Of what?" she asked as she reached over to grab his hand. He didn't flinch like last time. He curled his fingers into hers and squeezed gently.

Gendry shrugged sheepishly. "Of everything, I guess."

"That's perfectly okay."

"No, it isn't, though. Everyone has everything worked out, now, yeah? And I'm here, stuck in this…_void, _or something, wondering what I'm going to do for the rest of my life. Sure, school was an absolute shit hole, but it was _my _shithole. At school, I didn't have to worry about jobs and university applications. I didn't have to worry about whether I can make it through the week or not like I'm some…_starving_ _fucking_ _artist_ or something. That's why I suggested this fucking trip."

"What'd you mean that's why you suggested the trip?"

Gendry pursed his lips and slinked down. "I wanted to buy me some time—buy _you _some time. Everyone's leaving me, and now you are. I wanted to convince you somehow to stay here with me." Gendry gritted his teeth, but then he chuckled. "Totally fucking selfish, eh?"

"You don't want me to leave?" Arya asked, her eyes becoming slightly wet. "I would come back for you, Gendry. You know that, don't you?"

"What if you didn't, though?" Gendry's breath came out hard and frustrated. He ran a hand through his short, black hair aggressively. "I…I can't lose you, too."

"What you did, Gendry," she began, leaning in to wipe a warm tear from his cheek, "wasn't selfish. I probably would've done the same thing, honestl—"

"You don't _get _it." Gendry huffed. "The plan was to make you love me so you would stay with me. I was drunk and stupid, but I still held true to the plan. Before we left, I didn't love you romantically. I loved you as my little and angry best friend." Arya felt like she was being stabbed in her chest. _Isn't one wound enough? _"I wasn't supposed to fall for you like I did."

Everything was falling onto her heavy, as if she was being caught beneath the rubble of a fallen building and the hope of getting out of it alive and unharmed was fading. _I wasn't supposed to fall for you like I did. I didn't love you romantically. _The words kept rewinding in her head. It was like someone was in her head with a knife, and they were cutting the words into her skull, just so they would be forever etched into her.

Arya gulped, not speaking. Truth be told, she didn't know _what _to say. He used her for his own personal gain. Arya didn't know whether or not she should slap him or what. _He does love you now, though. _If he feigned his love before, then what stops him from doing it now? He was convincing before. He could always do it again.

Arya wiped the tears from her face. They were falling down hard, like rain during a storm. Gendry noticed and the look on his face was earth-shattering.

"Arya…" he said softly, reaching out to her.

She flinched this time. "You were going to use me."

"Yes," he sighed in defeat, slinking back. "But now I don't want to."

"How long have you loved me?"

Gendry paused, he was hesitant. "Four days ago. That's when it hit me."

Arya's stomach pushed itself in. Arya wanted to puke. The bitter taste of vomit flooded her tongue, threatening to escape. Arya gulped, keeping it down. "So, you told me you loved me when you _didn't, _in fact, love me?"

Gendry nodded slowly, his lids dropping to his lap.

"Fair enough," Arya mumbled as she got up. "I knew this was too good to be true."

And with that, Arya left him in the room. Perhaps everything was now lost between them. The _arrogance, _though, to use her like that. He would've made her stay behind, leaving all her hopes, dreams and her scholarship behind her. And for what? For some _stupid _bull-boy?

Arya grabbed her phone and dialled a number. She didn't care _whose _number it was, though. She just needed someone to talk to.

Arya pushed the front door open and left the house, not bothering to put any shoes on. She didn't care.

"Hello?" Her sister, Sansa, said.

Arya sighed in relief, gripping the phone to her ear.

"Come and get me, please."


	12. Chapter 11 - Last Night Drive

**A/N: Hey guys! Okay first off, I'm really sorry about the last chapter. The feedback was a little…startling…at first, but I took some time to read and process what you guys have been saying. I'm sorry about all of the angst and stuff, but I promise it'll get better! This was just my stupid way of shoving conflict into the story. After this chapter, it'll live up to its name.**

People are so easy to either dismiss or cherish love. How can you even identify it, anyway? People have _so _many definitions of love that it might as well take up an entire dictionary. Were the feelings Arya felt before _love_? Or were they illusions, or did she _believe _it was love because someone else—who has a _different _perspective and definition of love—said so?

Arya didn't know.

Hell, she didn't even really care anymore.

(Not as much as she should've.)

Arya bumped into a body just as Sansa began talking. Arya groaned as she looked up. She was almost thrown to the bloody floor. Arya looked up. His face was barely lit by the automatic lights outside of the house, but she knew immediately that it was Renly. He ruffled his hair and rubbed his nose.

"Sorry," he muttered. "What are you doing out here?"

"I'm talking to my sister," Arya said, mustering up as much courage as she could. "It's really important so, please." Arya was about to push her way through him, but he was stronger than her. He stopped her before she could move.

"What's happened?" he asked, brows furrowed.

"It's a…" she pressed the phone to her chest so her sister couldn't hear. "…Gendry problem."

"Talk to me, then." Renly shook his head. "I'm closer and available."

"I don't need to talk it through, Renly," she said, trying her best to sound polite even though she was lying through her teeth. She wanted someone to tell her that she was right, and that Gendry was wrong. She wanted reassurance that she can be loved. _Am I really that hard to love? _"I need to go home."

Arya could hear her sister yelling into the phone, Sansa's sleepy voice clearly audible. If Sansa was asleep, then she would be too tired to make the journey to Renly's which meant that Arya would have to stay longer—which was something she certainly _didn't _want to do.

Arya raised her hand to Renly. "Sorry Sans," Arya said softly. "I was just talking to Renly."

"Gendry's uncle?" she asked. "Why? Are you there?"

"Yeah."

"Why?"

"Long story," Arya sighed, her breath floated in the air as a white smoke as she did so. "I can explain it when you get me."

"Jesus Arya," Arya could almost hear Sansa rubbing her temples. It'd become obvious to Arya that she had disturbed her sister's beauty sleep. "I'll call dad, yeah? And he'll pick you up even if he was half-asleep." Arya was about to speak again in defence, but her sister cut her off. "Look, I would love to pick you up and get you back here safe, but I have an important exam tomorrow. Dad's better at this kind of thing, anyway."

"I don't want to talk to dad about this."

"You don't have to tell him, then. What about Gendry? Can't he take you home or something? You came with him, might as well leave with him."

Arya flicked her eyes up and saw that Renly was still patiently waiting.

"I…_can't_. We got in a…fight. I don't want to see him."

"Your fights never last more than a day," Sansa tried reassuring her. But it wasn't the reassurance she was hoping for. "He'll get over it, you'll get over it, and you'll be back to being buddies, yeah? Don't stress." Sansa yawned, and Arya figured that she should let her sister go back to bed.

"I don't think this fight isn't going to end any time soon," Arya sighed and looked at Renly. "But I'll figure something out. Go back to bed. I'm sorry for waking you."

"It's okay," Sansa yawned again, and then she hung up.

"You win." Arya sighed, shoving her phone into her pocket.

Renly flashed a closed-mouthed smile and grabbed her bicep.

"Come on," he said, leading her into the car. "You'll need some fresh air."

Arya obeyed. There was no point in fighting with him. He was letting her stay in his home, anyway, the least she could do was go on a quick drive with him. It would be harmless.

…It was a little weird, though.

He had asked about what had happened, and she told him everything. She was _so _close to crying as she explained, but she told herself not to. She couldn't cry again, not in front of someone else. People always say that crying makes you strong, not weak, but Arya didn't believe in that. To her, it was like her body was betraying her. It didn't know when certain functions—like crying—were needed, and when they _weren't_. Arya managed to look away when her eyes stang, but Renly could see right through her like she was ghost.

Her elbow was on the door and she rested her head on her hand, looking outside, watching as they drove past the trees, then the beach, and then some houses. Arya could feel his eyes burning through her, so she looked his way.

"What are you looking at?" she asked. In true Arya fashion, it was supposed to sound snarky and rude. That's how she wanted it to sound, but it just sounded broken, like she was a thirteen year old boy who was going through puberty.

"What are you going to do?" he asked, eyes flicking back to the road.

"I thought you were supposed to tell me that."

"I can't tell you what to do, Arya," he explained. "You're an adult now. And you're perfectly capable of making your own choices. I can't spoon feed you. I can't sit here and tell you to do this, or to do that because a certain something will happen because more times than not, it doesn't go according to plan."

"Then _why _am I here?" she asked in frustration.

He shrugged. "I didn't force you to be here."

Arya stuttered, unable to find the words. _You practically dragged me in here! _She wanted to scream, but she didn't. She just looked away.

"I think I'll call my dad later," Arya said after the two minute silence. She looked back to Renly; his face was half lit thanks to the passing lights. He raised his eyebrows, she saw.

"Are you gonna tell him what's happened?"

Arya chewed her lip, shrugging. "Maybe." Arya thought for a second. "Now that I think about it, he would probably kill Gendry—and quite literally."

"He loves Rob too much to kill Gendry," Renly shook his head before grinning wide. "He'll probably lightly squeeze his balls, though."

Arya laughed, too. It felt nice to laugh.

"I guess I can tell him, but maybe not until we get home. I just…"

"…yeah?" Renly trailed on.

"I don't know what to do with Gendry." Arya licked her lips. "I hate him for what he's done to me—okay, maybe not _hate_—but every time I close my eyes, all I can see is him standing there with tears in his eyes, and I see him doing something stupid—something that he'll really fucking regret. And it'll be _my _fault. Do you know how many times he's called me up in the middle of the night talking about how broken his heart is? Do you know who had to talk him out of doing something incredibly stupid? _Do you know _who had to run to his house in the middle of the bloody night _just _to make him feel better? It was _me_. I can't be one of those girls. I can't be the catalyst, Renly. I'll never forgive myself."

Renly breathed out, slumping down in his seat slightly as he took everything in. Arya watched him as he thought.

"It's tricky ground…" he told her, almost hesitantly. "…but you can't let it take over your life, you know? Even if you hate him—_or _strongly dislike him—you can still salvage some of the damage. Do you want to be friends with him?"

"I suppose so."

"Then if you want _my _spoon feeding advice, then I would say you should at least continue to be his friend. He's a kid who did something selfish and stupid, but he doesn't deserve to be cut off completely. Continue the trip, do everything you guys planned to do and then when it's over, it's over. Finish your school and keep in contact. He may have lost you as a girlfriend, but he shouldn't lose you as a friend. Do it for old time's sake. Do it for the little Arya who had dirt and sticks in her hair. Do it for the little Gendry who had a silly little crush on his best friend. Do it for _you_."

Renly pulled up to the front door, and the automatic lights switched on. In the window, she saw Gendry peeking through the blinds. Arya sighed, unbuckling her seat belt. She reached over and hugged Renly.

"I suppose you're right," she mumbled. "Thank you."

"Anytime, kid." He rubbed her back lovingly.

They pulled apart and she walked through the door. Gendry scrambled from the window to the couch, trying to act cool. She smiled at him sadly, trying her hardest to be friendly.

"We'll talk tomorrow, yeah?" she said before she climbed up the stairs and got into bed. _Tomorrow's gonna be a long day. _

**A/N: Me again! I hope this was okay. I was trying to sum up all of the conflict I was talking about before in this so that the next ones will be straight up doing stuff.**

**Do you think Gendry should be forgiven?**

**Do you think Renly's right?**

**Do you think Arya's capable of giving people second chances after everything she's been through (with Gendry and throughout her life)?**


	13. Chapter 12 - Queen of the Claw Machines

Reaching over the bed to grab a sweater, Arya threw it on and got out of bed, heading downstairs for some breakfast. She woke up feeling pretty good; the chat she had the night before made her think all night as she slept. Arya knew how she was going to go around this, and she hoped it would work.

Arya's hand lingered on the stair-railing as she slowly stepped down. Gendry was talking to Renly, she could hear, and she heard Loras say a few things, too. Arya turned the corner, and when Gendry saw her, he stopped eating. Slowly putting his head down, he put down his spoon.

Renly turned in his chair, smiling at Arya.

"Good morning, sunshine," Renly smiled wide. "Did you sleep alright?"

"I slept pretty well, thanks."

Arya realized she wasn't wearing any pants. Her sweater was Gendry's, she lamented, the yellow one she had given him for his seventeenth. It rested on her thighs, just barely hiding her underwear. Renly snorted when he saw her embarrassment, shaking his head. He folded his paper and grabbed his piece of toast, nodding his head back to Loras.

Loras muttered something like: "I can't even have brekkie in my own bloody house. Damn kids," before he left. Renly stepped towards Arya and looked her in the eye. There was a nice glint to them. He nodded slowly and clasped her shoulder, mouthing the words "Good luck, kid."

It was just Arya and Gendry now. Arya stepped forward and took Renly's old seat which sat parallel to Gendry's. He continued eating, his eyes flicking back and forth from his bowl to the comic book he was reading.

"Did you sleep well?" Arya asked. It took him by surprise.

"My neck's a little stiff from the couch, but I think it'll wear off in a few hours." Arya frowned when he looked away. Muttering some words of encouragement to herself, she spoke up.

"Let's go to the movies," she said as she grabbed the piece of toast that was sitting upright in the red little toaster. She spread some butter onto it and it melted before her eyes. She loved when toast did that. It was a silly thing, but she always thought it was cool.

Arya looked back, watching as Gendry blinked. There was slight amusement in his eyes.

"What's playing?" he asked.

Arya shrugged as she took a bite out of her toast. She moved back to the seat and sat down, chewing in thought. "Do you have your laptop?" she asked.

"Yeah," he replied, nodding his head over to the bag that was resting beside the couch. "It's over there."

Arya swiftly left her chair and opened the bag, digging her way through to find his laptop. Arya realized that when she moved away, the sweater rode up, revealing her backside. _Shit, _she thought as she set the silver computer onto the computer.

Arya scanned the list of movies, making a blubbering sound. "What is it with movies now and the end of the freaking world?" she asked, her head peeping up from the laptop.

Gendry smiled. "How'd you mean?"

"I mean, listen to _this_: The World's _End. _This is the _End. _Pacific Rim—which is about the end of the world, kinda sorta."

"Kinda…sorta?" Gendry asked, amusement plain on his face.

"I can't very well _spoil _it for you."

"How kind of you."

Arya chuckled, ducking her head back down. "Which one of those do you want to watch?"

"They only have _three _movies showing?" Gendry sounded incredulous.

"Unless you wanna see _The Wolverine _then…"

Gendry's eyes lit up as he held up his comic book which was coincidentally a _Wolverine _one. Arya rolled her eyes. "We're not seeing Wolverine, Gendry."

"Well," he huffed. "Seeing that I have no choice in the matter, I guess I have to ask you: what do _you _want to see."

"_Fantastic _question!"

Gendry shook his head. Some hairs fell to his forehead, so he swiftly pushed them back into a black heap on the top of his head. _He really needs a haircut. _

"Can we do a double feature?" she asked, batting her eyelashes sweetly.

"Of…"

"Pacific Rim and This is the End."

"Why those movies?" he asked.

"They're supposed to be good."

"How would you know?"

"I saw it in the _flames,_" Arya whispered sultrily, imitating the woman they met two years ago at a fair who claimed that she could see the future. That was a good memory to Arya, when they didn't have the mess that they threw themselves into. Before the relationship and love drama, back when things were easier.

"Oh, my God, don't remind me of _her_." He buried his head in his arms.

"What?" she asked and Gendry lifted his head up, blue eyes blinking. "I thought you liked her. Oh, what was her name?" Arya chewed her lip as she lowered the laptop lid some. "_Melisandre _was it?"

"Yeah, that was her name!" Gendry laughed. "Yeah, the one who looked like she belonged in Lord of the Rings or something?"

"Not _quite _the medieval fantasy book I would compare her to, but whatever."

Gendry stared at her. Arya noticed the contrast between his skin and his eyes: light and dark. _Very much like his personality_, Arya figured. He managed to blink and move on.

"When's it on?"

Arya lifted the lid back up and scanned the page. "It's a movie marathon," she said, scratching her nose with her thumb. "And it starts in about an hour and a half – maybe even a little less."

"Good," he said. "Do you want to have a shower?"

Arya narrowed her eyes at him. "What are you trying to say?"

Gendry licked his lips. "Have your shower, Arya."

Arya had her shower, and she felt _so _much better. You know that feeling when you have a shower after you've cried, or after you've had a shitty day, and it's like the water just washes away everything; the blemishes left behind, the faint memory of it. It's like the water washes away the paint, making you a blank canvas, ready to be marked again; some strokes good, and some bad.

Arya dried her hair and changed into her tattered blue jeans and an old t-shirt. Walking downstairs, she saw Gendry by the door, playing with his keys. He looked up and saw her. Smiling, Gendry beckoned his finger towards himself. Arya slipped her favourite pair of black converse on before grabbing her bag and heading out the door.

Gendry's car felt stale, and she couldn't quite breathe properly. It was like a car that had been sitting in the blazing sun for too long, and the heat's just _absorbed _itself into the car. But it was cold outside. Maybe the car was just a piece of shit. Arya swatted away some dust particles as Gendry stepped inside, buckling himself in.

Gendry moved his arm towards Arya's legs, and for a split moment, his hand brushed her knees. The heat sank through her jeans and despite the cold weather; she felt her legs burn up. His eyes flicked to her. Beneath his somewhat calm disposition, she could see a flicker of embarrassment burning his eyes. His cheeks flushed, and he quickly hid it. He opened the latch to the passenger side glove-box and grabbed a CD. He slid it into the player and it began playing some One Direction song.

"What the fuck is this," Arya said, mortified.

"It's the roadtrip mix I made. I totally forgot I had it in here."

"_No, _not _that_." Arya pointed to the CD player. "Why did you put One Direction on it?"

"Oh," Gendry shrugged sheepishly as he turned a corner. "I thought you liked them. You know," he said, eyes flicking over to her brightly. "I thought you girls liked the clean-cut fourteen year olds."

"They're not fourteen," she said, her voice almost sounded defensive, and she cursed under her breath. Gendry looked at her, brows raised. "Not…" she added. "That I would know or anything."

Gendry continued to drive, and they both sat in silence. The CD flicked through songs by different artists: Ed Sheeran, Arctic Monkeys, The Smiths, Oasis, and so on. Gendry stopped at a red light. His fingers began to drum against the steering wheel as he muttered the words to a song that Arya didn't know.

Admittedly, this entire thing felt weird to her. They were both acting like nothing had happened—well, _she _was acting like that. Gendry on the other hand, was trying his hardest to be nice, maybe even walking on eggshells around her. It pissed her off some, but she brushed it off.

_It's not for you. _

He caught her staring. "What?"

"Nothin'," she said, looking away, slightly ashamed.

"Hey, uh," he said, breathing out. She looked back to him, but he wasn't looking at her, only straight ahead. She didn't know if it was because of what was happening, or if he was just being a good driver. _Stop making everything about you. _

"I was wondering when we could talk about what happened."

Arya slumped back, ripping her gaze off him. "Yeah," her voice was small. "I did promise you a talk today."

"Did you want to talk about it now or after the movie?" Gendry asked as he began to drive again.

"How long until we reach the cinema?"

"Maybe fifteen minutes if the traffic's free," he said, nodding his head to the road. "But it looks pretty clogged up so it's your call."

"Convenient," she muttered lowly. "I guess we can talk about it now."

"Better now than never, I suppose."

"True," Arya smacked her hands on her lap, facing Gendry. "Alright I'm gonna just put it out there, okay? I thought about it long and hard and I think that we should keep being friends."

Arya flinched, as if he was going to scream and lash out at her, but he didn't. He was calm and understanding.

"I think you're being a little too forgiving," he said, almost robotically.

"I know I am." Arya replied, shifting her legs. "If it wasn't you, I would've kicked your arse into the next decade, but you're you, and I don't want to lose you."

"I don't want to lose you either."

_Then why did you tell me? You could've held it in, you know. I would still be yours entirely. Maybe it was better that you told me just as it began. I would've killed you if it was later._

"I love you, Gendry," she said, and she saw him blink a couple of times, amazed. "_But_…" she added. "Shit happens, and it just happens. I don't know if what I felt was the kind of love I wanted it to be. Maybe I was in love with the idea of being in love – you know, like, _really _in love, or maybe I was confusing my love for something else. I don't know, nor do you, nor anyone else. No one can define anyone's love. I guess what I'm trying to say is that I want to be friends with you still. I want to finish this trip, then go off to finish my scholarship. Does that seem fair?"

"Yeah," said Gendry. "I still don't know why you would be doing this for me after what I did."

"I'm not doing this for _you_," she said, sharply. "I'm doing this for the Gendry I once knew."

Gendry parked and they walked inside the theatre. Gendry told her to sit down while he got the tickets. He wanted to pay for it, another way of saying he's sorry, she figured. _It's going to take more than tickets and popcorn to make me forgive you entirely. _But Arya figured that she shouldn't hold _too _much of a grudge like she would've if he was anyone else.

Arya ran to the claw machine and began playing it. She was a bit of an expert when it came to the claw machine. One time, when she was a little younger, she managed to get two toys instead of one. It was a Spiderman one and their arms must've linked together or something. It made her feel on top of the world because she thought she had somehow beaten the system, like, _hey, hey, you're rigging means shit – I got the toys! Suck my – _

"Tickets, _my lady_," he said, handing hers to her. The _my lady _part caught her off by surprise for a second, but then she realized that he said that before they were 'together', and they were friends now, and that's what he did when they were friends, so she brushed it off.

"Thanks," she nodded, turning back to her machine.

"Win any yet?" he asked, leaning against the side of the glass.

"I'm _trying_," she groaned. "You're fucking up my Zen."

He threw his hands up defensively, dropping his ticket as he did so. He bent down and grabbed it from the sticky floor.

"Do you want me to put that in my bag?" she asked, her eyes flicking to him. "You're gonna lose your ticket."

"I'll put in my wallet," he grabbed his wallet and stuffed it in the note pocket. "Thanks, though."

Arya turned back to her game. There was a stuffed owl in the middle, slightly elevated, with nothing too damaging beside it. _Perfect, _she bit her lip. Arya bit down on her lip so hard that she could taste blood, but she ignored it as she moved the joystick over her owl. Arya shifted her head so she was looking through the left window. Everything was lined up perfectly. Her fingers lingered over the button for a second, but then she pushed down on it, both Gendry and Arya held their breaths, afraid that a single murmur of breath would disrupt it.

The owl was won, and Arya grinned, holding it up to Gendry. She looked like a little girl.

"You're like the fucking queen of claw-machines, aren't you?" he laughed, taking a hold of it.

"I'm a _winner,_" her shoulders shifted as she smiled. "It's in my blood."

"What do I have in my blood, then?"

"You have charm with a side dish of daddy issues," Arya grinned.

Gendry's mouth dropped open. "That…" he couldn't find the words, so eventually he slumped in defeat. "…is absolutely correct."

"I think we should grab the food now," Gendry said, handing her the owl back. "The movie's starting soon."

"Yeah," Arya nodded, putting the owl into her bag. "Let's get something to eat."

Arya and Gendry walked side by side to the candy bar. It was strange to say the least. _He's trying at least, _Arya thought. Or was he? Honestly, she didn't know. Gendry walking around egg-shells was starting to annoy her some, but he was trying to be like his old self, the one who would call her _my lady, _and who would tease her, and who let her tease him back.

Their hands brushed, and a spark of electricity and heat zapped through her. She flinched away, too afraid to look at Gendry. Did she do that? Arya shook her head.

Arya decided on getting a large popcorn, some chocolate and a large diet Coke. Arya held it all in her hands; she couldn't even reach for her wallet. Gendry, once again, butted in and offered to pay. Arya didn't complain; she's always loved free shit.

The first movie was This is the End and the second was Pacific Rim. Arya yawned when Pacific Rim finished. God, she was tired. The both of them were quiet as they left the cinema.

"Did you like the movies?" Gendry asked as he began driving.

"Yeah, a lot, actually." Arya replied. "You?"

"Yeah, they were really funny."

_Small talk, _Arya lamented. _Fucking wonderful. _

"Anything else you wanted to do?" Gendry asked. "The day is still…sort of young."

It was almost four in the afternoon. Arya opted out of doing anything else. All she really wanted was some food, and she was fairly certain that Renly's fridge was empty.

"Can we get some McDonalds drive thru?" she asked. "I kinda just wanna get something and go home. Maybe read a book, I don't know."

"Sure," Gendry smiled. "Anything."

Arya shuffled through the front door, Gendry had the door open for her. She thanked him, a chicken nugget between her teeth. Renly was sitting on the couch, watching the telly.

"Hey," he nodded his head. "You got food? Aw, man."

"Do you want some chips?" Arya asked.

"Nah," he said, slinking back the couch. "I've got Chinese food."

"From that place down the road?" Gendry asked, closing the door.

"Yeah."

"Unlucky bastard," Gendry shook his head, smiling, some hairs fell to his face, but he brushed them back.

"Their fried rice is spectacular," Renly said defensively. "And no one can _ever _convince me otherwise."

Arya giggled and walked upstairs, closing the bedroom door behind her. Arya pulled her laptop out of her big bag and sat on the bed, careful not to spill any sauce onto the sheets. She opened up the laptop and checked Facebook.

There was a message from Sansa.

_Hey. Um, okay, so I don't know what happened last night, but you haven't been answering my messages, and I got worried. I just wanted to see if you were okay, and if you still needed a ride._

Arya's fingers brushed the keys. What would she tell her sister? Everything's worked out and I'm fine? No, that seems suspicious, like she's been kidnapped or something. _No, that's fucking stupid, Arya. _I've decided to act blind to what's happened and I'm going to use him like he did me so I can finish this trip with _some _nice memories. No, that's bitchy and mean. _Not as mean and bitchy as Gendry was to you. _She wanted to pull her hair out, she wanted to scream, she wanted to throw her laptop against the wall and scream _I'm not fucking okay! I've never been fucking okay! Leave me alone!_

The anger flowed through her, making her feel warmer and warmer. It wasn't Sansa who was pissing her off, no, her sister was doing a sister thing. But it wasn't Gendry either. Or was it? Arya couldn't decide whose fault it was. Was it her own? Did she bring this upon herself? _It's not your fault. Yes, it's your fault. No, it's not your fault._

There were two Arya's: one was her rational one, the one who knew everything, who made the right decisions and who was there to help her push through bad times. But the other was like a cruel bully, always on her back, pulling her hair, poking her, reminding her of everything bad she's ever done, or every fault it could possibly think of. She didn't know which one was the real her anymore, they've both bled into her reality.

"Hey _Arry_," Gendry opened the door slightly, his head poking in. Arya almost knocked her computer over. He noticed. "Sorry. I didn't mean to startle you. I just wanted to ask if you wanted to go to this amusement park tomorrow. Loras said it was really fun."

"Um," she said, collecting herself. "Yeah, seems fun."

"Okay," he nodded. "Have a good sleep."

"You, too."

"I'll try, but thanks."

And with that, he left her, and she was alone again, still reply-less for her sister.

Arya decided that she had to grow the fuck up. She had to get a firm and tight grip on her ovaries and be a woman. _You can do this._

Arya typed.

_Hi. Thanks for that. I'll be fine—a momentary lapse in judgement, I guess. Gendry and I have made up for the most part, and the trip is still on. I'll talk to you if anything changes. Is it cool that you don't tell mum and dad I frantically called you? I don't want any trouble, yeah?_

Almost immediately, her sister replied.

_Oh, thank God, you've finally messaged me. Don't worry, I didn't tell them anything. I wanted to see if you wanted to talk to them yourself, but I guess you don't. Whatever happened, I hope it'll be okay. I don't want you stranded or anything. Yeah, message me if you need anything. Love you. Xx_

The kisses made her smile. She missed her sister, but Arya would never admit that aloud.

Putting her laptop back in her bag, she grabbed one of her books and began reading, losing track of time as she did so.


End file.
